The Schemes of VKs
by brethewriter
Summary: Prequel to Just One Kiss. Immediately after the coronation, Mal and Ben decide to take some time apart to decide if and how they want to continue their relationship. Of course Evie and Jay and Carlos can't make things easy on them.
1. Chapter 1

After a long night of dancing and partying, long after midnight, despite Fairy Godmother's usual curfew, Mal was never so relieved to see her dorm room. It had been a long day of anxiety before the coronation, and all of the events that followed. She had spent the day defending the kingdom, Ben's kingdom she thought with a small smile, from her mother, and then with all the dancing and fireworks and a ton of time in Ben's arms as they danced the night away, it all seemed to rush by in a blur. She had never thought she would be so happy to see the overly pink and purple frills of the canopy above her bed, never so thrilled at the prospect of getting into baggy pajama pants and falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Only, Ben was still holding her hand in his. She couldn't forget about Ben, the crown still on his head, the dorky smile that hadn't left his lips for nearly the entire night, and the sweet smell of the night clinging to him, his cologne barely covering the evidence that they had been dancing for several hours.

Mal turned to face him. He looked about as exhausted as she felt, but the smile still remained true on his face as he leaned closer to her. She knew he was about to go in for yet another kiss. She knew she couldn't let him. She was still trying to reason out her true feelings after she had love spelled him, and family day, and after all that had happened at the coronation.

"As tired as I am," Ben began, his cheeks flushed with all of the dancing and partying, "I still don't want this night to end," He told her gently. He didn't lean in again as Mal expected him to, and she felt relief flow through her. It was getting more difficult not to kiss him, the magic of the night practically begging for it.

"Has it set in yet?" Mal asked him, not wanting him to leave quite yet either. She knew the longer she waited, the harder it would be to explain what she knew she had to tell him. "That you are king of all of Auradon?" she continued, watching him with a gentle smile. He did look quite cute with the crown.

He returned her smile and shook his head, the crown shifting just slightly. "It still feels like a dream," He admitted. "Though I can understand why, with such a beautiful girl on my arm." he finally leaned in for another kiss and she turned her head away, knowing it was what she had to do. "Though the crown is heavy," He added, pulling away, acting as if the near kiss hadn't even happened.

"A lot of things take getting used to I guess," She answered with a small shrug. Then their exhaustion seemed to overtake them and they were plunged into a long silence.

Mal knew she would have to tell him eventually, and there was no time like the present as Fairy Godmother always said. "Um, Ben," She started, just as he said her name at the same time.

"You can go first," She told him with a little smile, whatever he had to say was probably less serious than what she had to tell him.

"No," Ben answered, suddenly a lot more nervous. "You should really go first." He decided. "Beauty before Kingliness," He said, a little smile breaking through at his making up new words.

Mal forced herself to remain serious, even though he looked so cute. " Ben," she said, "King Ben, you should really go first."

He shook his head. "Just Ben is fine," He told her, "Well when it's just us anyway," He continued, twisting a tendril of her hair between his fingers again.

Then he pulled away and sighed. "I haven't told anyone about how you spelled me," He spoke, his voice suddenly becoming more regal, as if he was going to make a proclamation.

"Ben-" she started as she stared up at him, a sudden fear crossing her face that she tried to hide away. But he didn't let her continue.

"I have no intentions to," he continued and she couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips. "But if it ever did come out, there could be doubts of your intentions and mine." She could see that his hands were shaking, the only evidence that he was as nervous as she was.

"What are you saying?" She asked, trying to remain confident and collected. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions. She searched his face for any meaning, but he kept his face neutral.

Ben took a deep breath. "It would be wise if we spent some time apart," He explained, avoiding her eyes. "Really decide how we feel about each other, just in case anyone finds out about the love spell. That way they can't question our loyalties." He avoided her eyes, "That way, we'll know if what we're feeling was real, or could be, or if it was just the love spell."

Mal hated to admit that he was right. "How long are you thinking?" She asked, focusing on the golden piping on his coronation suit rather than his blue grey eyes.

"Two weeks," Ben decided a little too quickly, "Or until we can't stand the separation," He continued. "I'm going to be busy with kingly duties anyway most likely," He said, "but if it makes you more comfortable we can say we're still figuring things out after our first date."

Mal nodded slowly. "Ok," she answered, "Two weeks to figure things out." She could feel the weight of everything, including exhaustion, hitting her all at once. "Anything else we need to talk about?" She asked him, finally looking at his face again and his eyes.

He shook his head slowly.

She slipped his ring from her first finger and handed it to him. "Then I'll see you on Monday, King Ben." She could feel the not so familiar sting of tears against her eyes as she bowed low. She didn't look at him again.

She knew she had to get into her room before he noticed anything. She shut the door and crumpled to the floor, all of the emotions of the day hitting her at once.

Everything had changed so quickly.

* * *

Ben stood and stared at Mal's door for several minutes before he turned and headed for his own dorm. He wanted to badly to just knock on her door again, tell her his true feelings and kiss her as he was sure she had never been kissed before, but he knew what the tabloids would say, what the reporters would pull from any loose thread in his intentions.

And all because she was Maleficent's daughter with an unknown father that could be royalty.

It was a wise idea to take a step back from things, see how she did on her own, see how he really felt about her without the love spell as a catalyst. See how she really felt.

Happy and love were two very different emotions.

Still, she had taken it all better than he had expected her to. If he had said something like that to Audrey, or any of the other princesses in Auradon, they would have either wailed themselves hoarse into hysterics, or started throwing things at him. Mal had just accepted it, as if he had told her that he was going to go to the library or something else mundane.

He wondered just how much she had really been hiding from him as he unlocked the door to his bedroom and shuffled in, barely enough energy to turn on the light or lock the door behind him. He pulled the crown from his head and collapsed onto his bed, too tired to even think about undressing. The events of the entire day replaying themselves in his head as he closed his eyes.

He knew why he needed to take a few days of distance. Her love spell, while it hadn't lasted too long, had made him think of several possibilities, several options he hadn't ever thought to explore before her arrival, both in his dreams and in Auradon.

Several options that were quite dangerous for Auradon.

As much as he wanted to explore those options, he had to know that what he was feeling, what they were feeling was love.

He could survive a few weeks alone, keeping his distance. He needed to if he was ever to prove that their relationship was real and not just a product of a love spell. He could survive time apart from her, if it meant proving to the rest of the kingdom that she really was good and not just using him. He could survive a week or two without her, he had already spent sixteen years of his life without her.

But that didn't mean he couldn't think about her.

The events of the day replayed themselves in his head as sleep overtook him, only as he dreamed, her lips met his every time he had tried to kiss her.

He fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey!" Evie's chipper voice came from across the room, "Are you planning on getting up today?" Mal pretended to stay asleep, pulling the thick comforter tighter around her, but Evie saw right through it. "Oh I see!" She continued, plopping herself down on Mal's bed and poking her through the blanket. "Our new king kept you up until all hours of the night, didn't he?" She teased.

At the mention of Ben, Mal answered in the negative and groaned, not wanting to say much else. She didn't even know how to describe it herself. She had yet to come to terms with it, she guessed. Everything had started so great and ended so terribly.

"What happened?" Evie asked, pulling the comforter from Mal's face, only to find it tearstained.

"King Ben finds it best if we spend a few weeks apart after I love spelled him," Mal answered with a straight face. "Which is probably code for: 'Hey it was fun, but I'm king, you're no royal," She groaned. "Maybe Jane and Audrey were right," She continued. "He'll never make a villain a queen."

Evie gave her a look like she wanted to slap her. "Do you want me to beat him up?" She growled and it was oddly cute to think of Evie beating up the king. "I would just love to sock him right in the nose as hard as I can."

That made Mal laugh. It felt good to imagine him less than perfect, a black eye or a busted lip. "And get shipped back to the island? No way," She said, even though she wanted to see it. "Maybe he's right," She continued, "Maybe we should take some time and decide how to proceed, if at all." She sat up from the pillows, "If he wants to chase all the tail in the meantime, let him," She decided, her confidence back and in full swing.

"I think you're confusing Ben with Jay," Evie answered. "Ben has been over the moon for you since he shook your hand when we first arrived," She revealed with a small smile.

Apparently everyone could see it but Mal.

"It might be a good idea though," She continued, "And it might be a little fun teasing him," She added, her smile wicked. "I'm thinking a skin tight, nearly see through ensemble for the spring dance."

Mal couldn't help but smile. "Tease him," She reminded the younger girl, "Not torture him in front of all of his subjects."

Evie laughed. "It sounds like you don't need time to sort out your feelings at all," She accused.

Mal could feel the blush cover her cheeks. "The love spell muddled everything up," She answered. "It washed away on our first date," she continued, "but what if he doesn't have real feelings for me, just some weird fascination with the VKs?" She shook her head. "I'm not deciding how I really feel until he does," She decided crossing her arms tight against her chest.

Evie rolled her eyes. "M, two weeks is a long time." She reminded her, "And you know Audrey and all of the other girls are going to try and woo him."

"Let them," Mal decided. "If a little skirt pulls him away, then it wasn't really worth it, was it?" She asked, her confidence back after a night of sleep. "What happened with you and Doug last night?" She asked changing the subject.

Evie tensed up at the mention of Doug, and Mal didn't miss the not so subtle sadness that crossed her face before it was replaced by neutrality once again. "We danced a little, but nothing really happened after that," Evie admitted.

"But you wanted it to?" Mal asked, relieved that she wasn't the only one having relationship issues. It made her feel a little evil that she was relieved, but she let it go.

"Well, yeah," Evie answered, and Mal definitely didn't miss the blush. "Things were going so well between us before family day." Even Mal shuddered at those two words, "And then absolutely nothing," She continued, her tone flat.

"So why don't you go talk to him about it?" Mal asked, getting out of bed and moving to the mirror to at least try and look presentable for whatever the day held for them. "It's not our parents generation," She reminded Evie. "Girls can make the first move."

Evie stared at her as if she had three heads. "You're right!" She said before she turned for the door. "I'm going to march right up to him and-" Then she froze, her confidence falling flat. "Say what?" She asked, turning back to Mal at the mirror.

"Whatever you feel?" Mal answered, before a wicked smile crossed her lips. "That love spelled cookie is still in my locker if you want to go that route," She continued. "It was a great development for my relationship." She couldn't help but laugh at that.

Evie made a face at her. "You're terrible at love advice," Evie told her. Mal just kept laughing. "At least Jay and Carlos are sympathetic."

Mal rolled her eyes. "I didn't exactly grow up with all the latest dating advice from Lady G," Mal reminded her. "My mother's only advice on love was _Romeo and Juliet_ and we all know how that ends," She continued, trying not to think about the ending too much, and hoping that if there really was an ending for her and Ben that it was better than that.

Evie laughed too, then she shrieked in excitement. "You should come out with me and the boys," She suggested. "The fighting knights are doing a scrimmage game this afternoon, and I could put you in something really cute to distract Ben." Evie seemed excited just at the opportunity.

Mal shook her head. "After the last one, I think I'll just go to the library," she decided. The last one where she had been serenaded and embarrassed enough for millennia to come.

Evie shrugged, "Your loss," she answered before heading for the door. "I'll see you later!"

Once she was alone, she pulled her hair up, too preoccupied with her options to waste time getting all dolled up. It wasn't like there was going to be anyone worth looking good for. The library was the one place on campus where looks went out the window, and she didn't expect to run into anyone if the knights were scrimmaging. She had heard the hundreds of female students swooning over the eleven or so tourney players on the team.

Those odds were astronomical, and she couldn't help but notice a lot of their disappointment when Ben had serenaded her.

Ben.

She had to stop thinking about him, especially if the next two weeks were a Ben free zone.

She dressed and grabbed her spell book, then headed out toward the library.

There were more important things to think about at that moment than King Ben.

* * *

Ben tried not to shout out in shock as two sets of strong arms shoved him into the nearby lockers. In an instant, he was greeted by Jay and Carlos, not looking too happy with him.

"Hey guys," He said with a slight smile. He had never actually been in that kind of situation, usually he had bodyguards around to protect from that kind of thing. "How's it going?" He asked.

Judging by their grip on him, there was no doubt in his mind that they already knew what had happened between him and Mal. From the look in their eyes, there was no doubt they weren't going to beat him up. "Do what you must," He told them with a sigh, dropping the facade.

Carlos and Jay just looked to each other and then back to him, a little confused. Then they both released him from the locker. "What were you thinking, man?" Jay asked, patting Ben on the back hard. "Breaking it off with Maleficent's daughter?"

"Do you have a deathwish?" Carlos added.

It was Ben's turn to look surprised and confused. "Break it off?" He asked, "Is that what she said?" He continued, "Because that's not what I said, or what I meant." It had all kind of gone by in a blur, the exhaustion of the long night of partying making his words forgettable and probably all the wrong words for her to catch his true meaning.

"Help me out here, bro," Jay continued, "What happened between you and the Mini Queen of all things Evil?"

He would have chuckled at the nickname if he weren't so concerned. He looked down the hallway of lockers for anyone else listening, then turned back to the boys. "I only did it to protect her," He admitted. "If anyone found out that she- that we started dating because of a love spell, it would be disastrous." He couldn't help but think of her own mother and where that love spell originated, or at least the urban legends. He watched as Jay and Carlos hung on his every word. "All I said was that we should take two weeks to really think about our feelings and she agreed." Hadn't she?

Jay looked like he was about to burst into laughter. "You don't know that much about women, do you?" He asked. "Mal is most definitely not fine with it," He continued.

Ben sighed. Just because she hasn't had a huge reaction like he had expected her to didn't mean that she was fine with it. "Neither am I," He admitted, "but I'm doing what I have to do to protect her," He repeated, trying to convince himself. "It could be disastrous if anyone found out and questioned our motives." Even though they were VKs they had to understand, right? The kingdom and running it was a delicate balance between peace and anarchy.

"I have no doubts of my feelings," He continued, when they didn't say anything for quite a while, "I would rather just stay together, show her all the places I'd like to make out with her." He had no idea why he was being so open with them, but it felt good to be so honest. "Hey," he imagined, watching her purple hair spin toward him, "Here's the restricted section of the library, can I stick my tongue down your throat?"

Both Jay and Carlos cringed. "Yeah," Jay answered, "Please don't ever let those words leave your mouth again."

Ben sighed. "I know how to run an entire kingdom, but I can't keep my cool around a beautiful girl." He didn't know how he had suddenly become so open around her fellow VKs, but it made him feel better. "I've already made a big enough fool of myself, so I'm not going to admit anything else until I know how she feels," He spoke before he had even decided, but it seemed like a good idea.

They would go back to what they were before she had spelled him with that delicious cookie. They were at least friends, right?

Carlos laughed. "Good luck with that, Ben," He answered, "Mal is the reigning queen of keeping things bottled up. If she doesn't want you to know her real feelings, you won't."

From the sound of it, He was doomed.

"We're still on for the scrimmage this afternoon?" He asked, trying not to outwardly show his disappointment. At the end of the two weeks he would have to be the one to admit his feelings and hope she felt the same.

"Shirts vs skins?" Jay asked. "We're making you skins and dragging all the girls along," He admitted. "Nothing will drive Mal more crazy than other chicks mooning over you."

Ben sighed. "Guys please don't get involved," He pleaded. The last thing they needed was the VKs and everyone else butting into their relationship issues, the kingdom had already butted into his affairs enough.

"Guess we shouldn't tell him about the betting pool," Carlos continued.

"The what?" Ben asked, looking to both of them for clarification, unable to hide his shock.

Carlos broke first. "There's a betting pool of how long you and Mal are going to stay together," He admitted. "Guess it doesn't really matter if you guys aren't actually together, does it?" He continued.

"I gotta find Mal," Ben realized, not wanting anyone to win the entire pool prematurely. Then he began to run for the dorms.

"Do you want in on the bet?" Jay shouted at him.

"Later!" Ben called back, turning the corner toward the dorms and smacking right into someone, knocking them both to the concrete in a splay of arms and legs and library books.

"What the fuck?!" A very familiar voice cursed, much louder with his face in her chest "You son of a bitch! I will string you up by your ears and beat you-" he looked up to see Mal staring at him as his eyes met hers.

He could hear the boys sniggering behind him and he tried to keep a straight face though he could feel the blush paint his cheeks. She had fallen backwards and he had tumbled on top of her, his face mostly into her chest, their arms and legs a tangled mess, his head swimming with the vision of her under him wearing much less.

He jumped to his feet and offered her his hand. "Sorry," He said, avoiding her eyes for several seconds. It was his fault after all. "Are you alright?"

"Watch where you're going next time!" Mal answered, pulling herself up to her feet, and avoiding him altogether and beginning the search for her scattered library books.

Ben couldn't help but laugh. "Are you going to pretend I don't exist for the next two weeks?" He asked, reaching down for the book closest to him, "Trying to distract yourself with-" he looked down at the book in his hand, the etched title unmistakably clear against the aged fabric, "-obscure children's tales?"

She caught his eye momentarily, then rolled hers. "If the king is gracious enough to let me and my friends stay, I was hoping to catch up on proper fairytales," It was a lie and he knew it, but he knew there had to be a reason she didn't want him to know the real truth.

"If it's fairytales you want," he started, looking for an in and trying not to get too distracted by the little curls that had slipped out of the bun on top of her head and brought out her eyes. "I have the most extensive collection at Auradon Prep. I would be happy to let you borrow them," He continued.

Mal kept her distance. "No thank you," She answered almost stiffly. "I should be fine with these for the next few weeks," She continued, turning and walking back the opposite way.

"Better go get her, Romeo!" Jay said, and Carlos laughed along with him. "Your conquest is escaping! Woo her with your-" In an instant he stopped as if by magic.

"Enough Jay!" Mal answered, and Ben knew she had magicked the words from Jay's mouth. He was mostly thankful, and a healthy dose of frightened.

Seconds later, he chased after her, very careful not to bump into her again. "I would like to talk to you," He explained, suggesting it at first, not quite ready to issue a royal order to her yet.

"Hmm," she started, over exaggeratedly as she brushed through the open double doors out to the picnic tables on the greens. "I thought you did all the talking you needed to do last night," She continued, her temper barely controlled under a mostly cool exterior it seemed.

"Let me try and explain it better then," Ben continued, finally catching up with her enough to grab her arm gently and stop her before she got too far into the forest paths. "Give me ten minutes," He tried to reason.

"You get five," She answered, "and that's me being nice," She added.

* * *

As soon as Ben and Mal rounded the corner and were out of sight, Jay sent off a text to Evie.

 _Are we really going to let them dance around each other for the next few weeks?_

As soon as he sent it off, he shoved his phone back into his pocket and led Carlos toward the locker rooms.

"You're thinking up some mischief aren't you?" Carlos asked him and Jay nodded, still unable to speak from Mal's quick spell. Then he showed him the text to Evie.

Not too long after that, Evie sent her response.

 _Not a chance._

Jay loved it when an evil- or not so evil in that case- plan started to form.


	3. Chapter 3

Mal stared at the pile of books she had set as close as she could to bring a barrier between her and the radiant King Ben himself, but even it wasn't helping to distract from his absolute beauty. In the sunlight, his hair shone like gold, no crown needed to see he was truly a cherubic, charismatic king. She didn't dare look at Ben, the one thing she had had that was now out of her reach.

She could feel his eyes on her, his gaze soft, but he had yet to say anything as they sat at one of the picnic tables. Finally he broke the silence between them, his voice gentle and timid at first.

"Did you know you get this really cute crease between your eyebrows when you're trying to concentrate?" He asked gently, moving one of the thick books out of the way and placing it to the side of them. She turned her attention to him. He knew he was wasting part of his five minutes, right? "It wasn't my intention to make you think I wanted to end things."

Mal stared him down. What exactly had he meant?

"I wanted a way for you to bow out if things get too difficult," He explained. "A way to protect you from any rumors the press will throw around," He continued. "I suggested distance not a complete split," He clarified.

"How would that even work?" Mal asked, trying not to get lost in his grey blue eyes, but unable to focus anywhere else. Why did he have to be so magnetic? "Yeah, we're together, but on hiatus?" She asked, "That's a really lazy way of saying we're too scared to break up."

Ben shrugged. "Usually, yeah," He agreed. "But our situation isn't exactly typical, is it?" He asked. He looked around them to make sure no one else was around, then he seemed to choose his words carefully. "The love spell is gone now, but it was there and it caused me to do some pretty crazy things, wouldn't you say?" He gave her a look, his eyebrows raised, and she choked back a laugh. "And who knows if what you're feeling is just an after effect?" For the first time, Mal could see his insecurity leaking through along with her own.

"What do you suggest?" She asked, suddenly wanting to hear him out.

"Distance," Ben repeated. "We're still trying to figure things out after our first date at the lake," He suggested, but she saw right through him.

"You're worried what everyone will think of a King dating the daughter of the Mistress of Evil," She accused, watching him carefully. His face would say more than his words.

"Well yeah, aren't you?" Ben answered back after several wasted seconds of silence. "The news outlets will snap up anything even remotely scandalous," He explained. "Last year there was an incident with Audrey and a tube of mascara that I'm pretty sure scarred her for life. Imagine what they could dig up on you, on us," He continued.

Mal just laughed darkly. "You think I'm worried about what people think of me?" She asked. She wasn't about to tell him if she was. "Let them come up with terrible stories about me or us or whatever," She challenged. "We don't have to pay any attention to them."

Ben smiled and she swore he was doing it just to tease her. "They probably still will, whether we're officially together or not," He explained.

"So don't pay any attention to them," Mal suggested. "Go about your day as if they don't even matter, because they don't."

"There's a betting pool going around about us," Ben said after a few short seconds of silence. Mal just nodded as he explained.

"I know," She answered. "Jay and Carlos started it after the tourney game," She explained. "You know they and Evie are going to try and push us together if we keep our 'distance'," She continued, complete with air quotes.

"Don't pay any attention to them," Ben answered back, returning her own advice to her. "Form your own opinion at the end of the two weeks and I'll form mine," He explained.

Their five minutes was dwindling down quick and Mal knew it. She wasn't about to go soft and give him more time. "Name your terms," She answered.

"No alone time between just us," He started, and she nodded along. "No bashing each other between friends." She nodded again. "And should we decide to pursue other people, the arrangement is no longer valid." He would most likely be the one to stray, not her. "At the end of the two weeks, the morning of the spring dance, we'll take some time to decide what we really want to do," He concluded. Mal realized their five minutes were up. "Shake on it?" He asked her.

She reached out to shake his hand and felt something hard between their palms. He pulled his hand away and left her with the gold ring he had given her at the coronation. She looked down at it, then up to him, but he didn't say anything about it.

"I've got to get to the tourney scrimmage," He said, standing up, "but I meant what I said about my fairytale collection," he continued, "Anytime you want to borrow a few, let me know."

She nearly nodded, but didn't want to seem too eager. There were more important things she should be focusing on before the two weeks were up.

"Oh and I'm not sure if anyone came looking for you yet," Ben continued, and Mal fought against the urge to take one last look at him and drink in all of his beauty, "But Fairy Godmother wants to see you."

She just nodded shortly in response. What could Fairy Godmother want with her? Before she could even ask anything further, he had darted off toward the field, leaving Mal alone with her books of fairytales and Ben's ring still warm from his touch in her palm.

* * *

Evie expected Mal not to want to show up to the tourney scrimmage, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to make her show up. She knew exactly where Mal was going to be as the team set up on the field and she left just as the band was coming onto the field. Her eyes met Doug's momentarily as she passed, the words getting caught in her throat, and then she was darting off back toward the dorms.

She caught Mal outside their building, carrying a plastic cage with the very familiar black lizard inside, not looking pleased at all. She looked to Mal, from the cage and back. It seemed a little too lax for the mistress of all things evil.

"Hey!" Evie said, trying not to look or sound too surprised at the freedom of Maleficent after what had happened at the coronation. "I was just coming to find you," She continued. "I need moral support at the game," She admitted, though it wasn't the whole truth. "I was planning on talking with Doug after, but I'm afraid I'll chicken out." She looked to the cage and Maleficent inside, the perfect excuse to go back up to the room and put Mal in something cute that didn't resemble pajamas.

If her plan was to go as she and Jay and Carlos had planned, Mal had to look cute.

"Sure," Mal answered, looking down to the cage with her mother, "Let me just put mother dearest in our room and I'll be right down," She decided, but Evie followed her up the stairs and into their room.

"I was thinking you could try on a little something I've been putting together," Evie said once they were behind the closed door. It was just slightly a lie, she hadn't been working on it recently, but it was something she had planned for Ben and Mal's second date. If things were to go the right way with their plans, it might as well be their second date. "Wear it to the game and see how you like it." She knew the best way to get Mal to do something was to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, or guilt trip her, and Mal was nowhere near there it seemed.

"Sure," Mal decided, more occupied with her mother in the plastic cage and Evie moved closer to her, holding the cute little shirt behind her back. "Do you think the cage is better here, or closer to the window?" She asked, "Is there more light here or in the bathroom?" She asked, then she looked to Evie. "I didn't even tell you!" She realized. "Fairy Godmother suggested that my mom stay with us until Summer starts to see if she grows any more. Something about showing her the power of love or something."

Evie just smiled. If Fairy Godmother had allowed it, there was no way the plastic cage was just a plastic cage. "There's more sunlight on the desk," She decided, "And I think it's better closer to the window." She continued, pulling Mal's attention back to her.

She handed Mal the shirt and she dressed rather quickly, then looked to Evie for assistance with the complicated straps and ties. Evie helped her with them, as she expected she would have to do, which gave Evie the perfect opening to work on Mal's hair and makeup.

"Honey," Evie started, "As your friend I can't let you go out looking like you just spent four hours in the library." She pulled Mal's hair from the bun atop her head. "The messy bun is so not in style anymore," She continued, working over Mal as quickly as she could. The scrimmage was about to start, and she wasn't going to miss the best part.

Ben stripping his shirt off.

Luckily, they made it back to the field just in time to snag seats in the front row closest to the field. Evie couldn't believe their luck. The game had yet to start, the cheerleaders rallying the crowd. Even scrimmages were taken as seriously as games were at Auradon Prep and the stands were practically full of the students, mostly female, there to get a glimpse of the skins team, no doubt, and the muscles that they possessed.

They made it just in time to see the team captains- Ben and Chad flip the coin to see who would be shirts and who would be skins. Evie watched Mal watch in anticipation, though she already knew that Jay had rigged the coin so that no matter what happened, Ben would be the skins team. They had even gotten Chad in on the deal with the promise of doing all of his homework for a week.

"Chad's captain of the shirts, Ben's captain of the skins," The coach explained and the announcer called out into the stands. Several girls near them let out loud sighs of disappointment at that change of events, though the whole team was pretty much chiseled gods so it wasn't that huge of a blow for them. "Captains choose your teams."

After several minutes of going back and forth, the teams were chosen and then the game begun. Evie couldn't help but smile at how Mal watched the players and Evie knew she was trying to avoid Ben at all costs. She didn't miss how Ben's eyes occasionally scanned the stands as Chad had chosen his teammates, more often than not landing on Mal.

They both felt so much for each other and yet neither of them wanted to admit it. Evie knew it was up to her and Carlos and Jay to make them see that. If it weren't for them, Ben and Mal would perpetually dance around each other and never admit anything.

The game progressed as the last tourney game had, besides the fact that half of the team was half naked besides their helmets. Most of the girls knew how to identify the team members by their abs or their arms. Evie could tell exactly where Mal's eyes were on the field, following a certain shirtless king as he navigated the field, the concern only mounting as he passed through the firing zone without any protection.

"He'll be fine," Evie told her with a little smile. "It's not like they don't do this almost weekly," She continued, trying to get Mal to at least admit she was thinking about Ben as she watched her friend's concerned face.

"The boys of Auradon Prep might, but poor Carlos looks so scrawny out there," Mal admitted, and Evie tried to hide her disappointment as she followed Mal's eyes to Carlos' slim frame as he ran though the firing zone and chucked the ball to Ben.

She knew Mal had been watching Ben too, and worrying over him, though she would never admit it. Even as the ball shot right into his ribs and the rest of the girls shrieked in fear, Mal stayed stone faced, her eyes quickly darting from Ben toward Carlos again.

Their plan would be a roaring success, or so Evie hoped, she just had to get everything and everyone in place.


	4. Chapter 4

It was obvious to Ben that Aziz let the last goal through, letting his team win the game. He just hoped it wasn't so obvious to everyone else, not that they would say anything, but it was embarrassing to be coddled all the time.

The rest of his skins team crowded him and group hugged him hard, the stench of sweating teenage boys and the slippery sweat against him enough to make him really wish for a shower. The pressure against the forming bruise combined with the stench of eleven other sweaty boys enough to make his stomach turn. As soon as they let him go, he was going to go for a long hot shower.

It had been a good game, Chad and his team putting up an excellent fight, except for the last goal that is. Ben definitely hadn't missed Mal in the stands, sitting next to Evie, who had been screaming her head off for Jay and Carlos, though they were on different teams. Mal looked less than delighted to be there, and from what he knew she wasn't really into sports anyway. Evie had probably dragged her along.

Though she did look nicer than when he had bowled her over in the halls. No doubt Evie's doing. The shirt she was wearing, from what he could see, was definitely too nice for an afternoon scrimmage. He wasn't complaining, though it was hard not to think about her in ways that he shouldn't be thinking if they were trying distance.

There was no way Evie and the other VKs weren't interfering with his arrangement with Mal. He reminded himself to be careful. They were no doubt planning something and soon.

He tried to head for the locker rooms as soon as possible, but Jay stopped him. "That was some game, huh?" He said, patting Ben hard on the back, nearly knocking the air out of him, by then Ben was used to his rough hits. "I hope that hit to your ribs didn't hurt too bad."

Jay was the one that had fired that particular shot, the only one on the opposite team that would even dare harm the king.

"Should you get it checked out by the nurse?" Jay asked, lifting his arm and inspecting the start of the bruise that would be there.

"I've taken worse hits," Ben lied, trying not to flinch. No one else on the team, or any other teams for that matter, had ever hit him so hard with a tackle, or a dragon breath attack, but he wasn't about to admit that. He liked that the VKs treated him like anyone else. "And good strategy taking out the highest scorer on the team," Ben continued, patting Jay on the shoulder before he moved toward the locker room and the showers.

Jay caught up with him again as he pulled his shirt back on over his sweat coated body. He tried not to look up into the crowd to see if Mal was still there, but her purple hair was like a beacon, especially as Evie dragged her down onto the field toward Audrey and the other cheerleaders.

He wondered what the VKs were planning. Mal was not one for cheerleading, or at least as far as he knew, but then he remembered that he wasn't going to let their schemes get to him. He had other more important matters to attend to before the weekend ended.

"Hey!" Jay continued, pulling him yet again from his quest to shower, "Carlos and I were going to head out into Arcadia City for pizza. We could grab a few cheerleaders and make a double- or triple date out of it," he suggested.

Was that their plan? Classify Mal as a cheerleader so they could go out on a triple date? Even he could easily see through that one. "I'm going to have to pass on that one," Ben answered, "I have monetary council figures to go over before Monday, and a chem test to study for," It wasn't necessarily a lie, he just didn't want to date anyone else, or even hint that he wanted to try. "But have fun with your double date," he said before he started to head for the locker room again.

Chad chased after him after that. "Good job leading the victory team, man!" He told him as he pat him on the back hard, like Jay had before. "I saw that hit that Jay got on you," He continued, "Nothing broken right?" He asked.

"Nope," Ben answered, the only thing he wanted to do was head for the showers. He knew that the hundreds of female students still in the stands were ogling him and the rest of the team that was still on the field and he just wanted to have a few moments to himself after the game and before he had to go over the figures and the proposals and his notes for the chem test.

"You really should get it checked by the nurse," Chad suggested. "My cousin, Drake, took a hit like that and didn't realize it had splintered his ribs." Chad had told that story as often as he could, but as far as Ben knew, Chad didn't have a cousin named Drake. "His own bone shard stabbed him in his sleep and he nearly died."

Ben resisted the urge to roll his eyes. All he wanted to do was go and shower and it seemed like everyone was holding him up for one reason or another. "If I go to the nurse, will everyone stop asking?" He asked, and both Jay and Chad nodded and Ben trekked back up to the school and toward the nurse.

* * *

As he suspected, the hit wasn't as serious as a splintered rib. It was simply a bruise that would look pretty horrid he guessed, but wasn't fatal at all. The school nurse just gave him a few aspirin and an ice pack and send him on his way.

By the time he got back to the locker room, it was empty. The rest of the team already showered and most likely getting on with their saturday afternoon plans. Not that he minded, he had always found it a little strange showering with the rest of the team, even though there were separate stalls. There were just certain things that were better done alone.

Since the locker room was empty, he took advantage of the acoustics as he showered. His bathroom was great for ballads and quiet serenades to his showerhead, but the locker room was perfect to test out his ability to belt. Not that he was that great of a singer, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to try. No one was due in the locker room anytime soon anyway. And even if they were, they would give him compliments no matter what he sounded like.

The benefits of being the king, and class president and basically an Adamson.

He was so into his singing, he didn't hear anyone else enter the locker room through the squeaky door.

* * *

Mal panted in relief as the locker rooms came into view. She was sure that cheerleading hadn't been that much work on the island, or maybe it was the fact that Audrey was the team captain and had made her run a lap for every mistake she made. Being brand new, and abandoned by Evie in favor of chatting with Doug, she made a lot.

"We're Auradon Prep!" Audrey had told her, and it took everything she had not to throw a little magic at her. "The King of practically everything is on our Tourney team, we can't be anything less than perfect!" She had said before she shrieked at Mal to run another lap.

That had meant quite a lot of laps and quite a sweaty disaster by the time Audrey called an end to practice over an hour later. She was half tempted to just go up to her room and shower in the privacy of her own bathroom, but her vanity kicked in and she was not about to let Ben see her after that many laps, the sweat practically pouring down her face, her clothes sticking to her in ways that she wouldn't want anyone to see.

Maybe Audrey had just been trying to torture her for stealing Ben away. But Mal knew she couldn't or shouldn't tell anyone about the distance idea. It didn't mean she wasn't still trying to impress Ben, or make herself look good.

She pushed the locker room door open, and it groaned at her with a loud shriek. She almost missed Carlos as he came out of the boy's locker room carrying his box of tools. She half waved before she entered and grabbed a towel from the freshly folded stack, still warm from the dryers.. Someone was already there, belting out terrible songs from generations past and pretty terribly too.

Whoever the poor girl was, she should stick to cheerleading rather than singing. Mal was sure her ears would be bleeding if she showered too long.

Then the poor girl switched to something more manageable and Mal was thankful as she stepped under the scalding water, as it released the tensions of her muscles. Why had she even agreed to try cheerleading?

Right, because Evie had seemed like she was planning something and Mal knew Ben wasn't about to return to the Tourney field if Audrey was still there. Things had been quite icy between them after that first tourney game when Ben had made a spectacle of himself and their relationship, but they were even more icy after family day.

She was only avoiding him when the VKs were around. She knew exactly the kind of things they would plan if given the chance, locking them in tight spaces, as she had locked Carlos and Evie in his mother's closet, or public embarrassment of the deepest caliber. Ben's serenade at the tourney game had been embarrassing enough for both of them, she guessed.

She started to sing along with whoever the poor girl was with the terrible voice, and then the voice stopped and a very familiar voice came instead.

"Mal?" Ben's voice came from behind the thin layer of steam, closer to the other running shower head. He sounded very anxious and unsure.

"Ben?" Mal answered back, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt. She couldn't see much, the shampoo foaming up in her hair and dripping dangerously onto her forehead. "What the hell are you doing in here?!" She growled at him as she tried to cover herself as much as she could, even though they were several shower stalls apart and the steam was a decent veil. "This is the girls locker room!"

"Last I checked it was the boys locker room!" Ben shouted back, more anxious than before and Mal brushed the suds away from her forehead and risked opening her eyes. She could see Ben, from the chest up, thankfully, looking back at her.

"Close your eyes you pervert!" She growled at him, ducking lower behind the tiled wall. "Get out right now!" She continued, stuck due to the half washed off suds.

She swore she could hear Ben laugh. "And let you fend for yourself when the soccer team comes in for their practice in about ten minutes?" He asked, "Not a chance."

He was enjoying it, the bastard.

If it was the boys locker room she was pretty much trapped with only her sweat drenched clothes and not her gym clothes in her locker in the girls locker room. How the hell had she mixed up the clear signs on the door?

She was sure she hadn't.

"I am going to kill Evie and the boys!" She growled, feeling the angry magic surge through her and fizzle from her fingertips, flickering the lights for a brief second. Those idiots had forced them together against their will, like she had thought they would.

"I'm tempted to give you a reprieve if you do," Ben answered back. "Look, I'm almost done here," He continued, being once again diplomatic after several seconds of silence. "I'll finish up and then guard the door until you're done." He was always the gentleman. She had to give him that.

What was she supposed to do? Sneak from the boys locker room into the girls in just a towel? That was almost worse than Ben seeing her naked. It was like a scenario from a nightmare.

"I have my gym clothes in my locker," Ben continued, realizing the same thing she did it seemed. "They're clean and you can borrow them to get back up to your dorm," He told her.

"Fine," She answered, not really having too many more options. "But if I see you with your eyes open in my direction, I will blind you," She threatened.

Ben laughed and that was not what she expected. Usually her threats made people cower, not laugh. "I wouldn't dream of it," He answered back. "Just let me know when you're ready and I'll give you my combo."

Then the shower a few stalls away from her shut off and she turned to watch him, and more specifically his eyes to make sure they stayed the hell away from her. She was seriously going to yell at her fellow VKs when she got the chance.

After that, everything seemed to lull into a quiet silence, the only sound the gentle hiss of the shower head as she rinsed off enough to get back to her room and have a real shower.

Though the humiliation was far from over it seemed. Getting back to her room in Ben's gym clothes would most likely end up starting rumors, or worse. No one would believe the truth anyway. They couldn't even kiss and-

She shut the shower off and reached for the towel she had remembered to grab, thankfully. Though instead of asking for his combination, she followed the trail of water from the shower he had used to his locker. Typical Ben, preferring to shake himself off rather than use a towel like a normal human boy.

From there it was easy to pick his lock. As soon as she got it unhooked from itself he cleared his throat at the end of the row of lockers. Just how long had he been watching her?

"You could have just asked," He told her, looking as regal as ever in his blazer and khakis, his damp hair the only thing out of place. "It would have been faster," He continued, his eyes on hers and nowhere else.

She pulled her gaze away and began rooting through his locker for the clean gym clothes. "Way to take all the fun out of it," She answered, but it was weaker than she had wanted it to sound. She avoided his eyes and tried not to think about the fact that she was mostly naked in the presence of the king.

"Brave girl to reach into a teenage boys locker so blindly," He continued, taking a few steps forward and leaning against the other lockers confidently. "In anyone else's locker, that would be very dangerous. Walt's locker for instance, you might come out with more of an eyeful than you bargained for."

She looked back to him as she pulled out a wrinkled jersey and shorts. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" She questioned, her gaze not leaving his.

Ben smirked. "You're not?" He asked. "Your friends are pretty crafty for choosing good," He explained. "They had to get us both in the same place, find a reason for you to even go into a locker room, switch the signs without anyone knowing. I'm impressed."

"That's childsplay," Mal scoffed. "You should have seen the schemes I ran on the island," She bragged slightly as she pulled the shorts on under the towel then pulled the jersey over her head. She realized it wasn't the time for bragging or sharing close personal stories. "Thanks Bennyboo," She said before she brushed past him, not even thinking about the nickname. "If you tell anyone about this, you're toast."

He laughed, where anyone else would be cowering. "I'll let it slide the first time," He agreed. "But I never took you for the royal fan girl type."

"I am so going to kill them!" Mal vented before she left the locker room and darted toward her dorm. She did not need anyone to see her in Ben's oversized gym clothes, his name all over them.

* * *

Evie looked up from her book as Mal slammed the door to their dorm shut with one hand, her other hand holding up Ben's shorts around her waist. "I didn't take you for a tourney player," Evie commented. "When I left, Audrey was putting you through the ringer," She continued.

Mal turned and glared at her. "Thanks for that," Mal answered sarcastically. "I am never going to be able to look at Ben the same again," She continued, as she moved from the door toward the bathroom, her skin still tingling with the sweat from her earlier torture.

Evie caught her eyes with a laugh. She set her fingers a few inches apart. "So is he more-" she paused with a wicked smile, "-short sword, or-" she pulled her fingers apart a few more inches "Long bow?"

Mal could feel the blush coming to her cheeks, but she scoffed instead, trying to hide her embarrassment. Her mother over by the window retched loudly. So much for teaching about love.

"You should have seen her father!" Maleficent called out, "He could-"

It was Evie and Mal's turn to retch, effectively drowning out Maleficent's less than innocent tale.

"I'm guessing he was more of a short sword if you didn't stay and admire it," Evie continued and Mal left any choice of words leave her throat. "Or enjoy it at all," She continued, her smile only growing wider. Mal threw one of her own pillows at her, and Evie just laughed. "Inquiring minds want to know," She continued as Mal closed the distance across the room toward the bathroom and freedom from the questions and the embarrassment.

"I am going to shower," Mal answered, "And if you call Ben in here, I will come up with a thousand different ways to torture you with Doug," She threatened.

Evie still just laughed, not threatened at all. "So you still haven't gotten in on the betting pool," She reminded her, swaying in the desk chair excitedly. "So far the longest anyone thinks you'll last is a year," She continued.

Mal just wrinkled her nose at her. "Ask me in two weeks," She said before she shut the bathroom door.

The small shower had never looked so inviting. Everything else could wait.


	5. Chapter 5

Mal spent Saturday night alone at her locker, painting over the insignia that had been hers and her mother's. The violent slime green and the blacks and purples with the phrase _Long Live Evil_ slowly disappeared under the same shade of royal blue that had been designated for the lockers, though she wasn't about to leave it that way. It was too boring, too good.

Sunday night she had returned, once the base coat of blue had dried, and painted her new masterpiece. She couldn't wait to see her fellow students faces, and Ben's, on Monday morning. It was something completely new, their choice of goodness still so fresh, and she hoped it would cause as much of a stir as her first painting had caused.

Monday morning's first few classes flew by in a blur of notes and elation at the new king and all of the gossip from the weekend. Normal after a weekend of weirdness. Surprisingly enough not as much of the gossip about her as she expected, especially after the tourney game and what had followed.

It wasn't until the first break of the morning that she got to her locker and caught her first glimpse of Ben at his, just a few closed lockers between them.

He looked no different from the last time she had seen him at his locker. His smart blue blazer and khaki pants, always looking regal and well put together, even though the semester was beginning to wind down toward summer and most of the students preferred pajama pants. His hair was just ruffled enough to look cool, or like he didn't care, though she knew it was probably the best he could do with all the running around and the inevitable crown hair. He looked no different than usual, but she sensed a kind of ennui as Chad and Aziz chatted with him about the last tourney scrimmage and then next game of the season against the Snowton Woods Trolls.

She tried not to act like she had been watching him, or listening in in his conversation, when she felt his eyes shift over to her open locker, freshly painted. She used it as a barrier as she tried to remember what books she needed next. She felt that something had almost shifted between them since the locker room mishap, but she wasn't about to admit anything.

She reached for her Internet Safety Rules Manual and her Remedial Goodness Book and then her eyes stopped on the ziploc bag with the cookie with only one bite taken out of it. She should have gotten rid of it sooner.

She would have to find a way to destroy it without anyone else suffering any dangerous consequences. She was about to reach for it when Ben's voice came from behind her locker, making her jump.

"You know," he started and she slammed the locker shut a bit too quickly, trying not to look too guilty, or give away the fact that he had scared her. "When I suggested signing you up for art class, it was so you would stop painting school property," He said with a smile that wasn't quite genuine. The awkward and uncomfortable smile.

"I did sign up," She answered. She had found it boring and had mostly ditched in favor of studying more magic from her mother's spell book. "But let me guess," She tried to size him up menacingly, "As class president and king of Auradon, you're going to have to report me to Fairy Godmother for destroying school property?"

He laughed, and yet again it wasn't as genuine as before. "This one is better than the last," He admitted, "And I can let it slide this once, or twice," He corrected, once he remembered it wasn't her first painting.

Mal scoffed. "You're not setting a very good example of leadership," She told him plainly. She figured that was the most honesty he would get all day, maybe even all week. "Any other student you would suggest detention to the headmistress. It states in the student handbook any student that defaces school property is given appropriate action." Blech! Rules. But if he was going to give her special treatment because of the love spell, she wouldn't allow it. "Since it is my second offense, I should be up for suspension, right?"

Ben seemed stunned that she had read the rules. "And be called the Tyrant King for suspending my own girlfriend?" He asked. "Not about to happen."

Mal scoffed, trying to gain her own composure back. "Has it been two weeks already?" She asked, unable to contain her snark. "That was quick!" She continued, shifting her books from one arm to the other.

"As far as everyone knows, We're still together," He reminded her, and she knew things would be easier that way. The less people to moon over him and steal the kiss with an addendum attached, the better. "And I'm content to let them continue to think that until we decide otherwise." His eyes migrated from her face to her hand where his ring had once been.

Currently it was sitting on her bedside table, but she wasn't about to tell him that. "What else can I do for you, King Ben?" She asked, trying to keep their rules and the distance between them. They had to get to class sooner or later.

"Have you read the fairy tale called the Witch's Knot yet?" He asked, "It's about a-" The bell cut them off and Mal turned to rush to her next class.

King or not, she would not let him get her out of being late.

* * *

The painting on her locker was better than the last one, he had to admit that. There weren't words to this one, and it was more symmetrical, confined to her locker only. At the bottom, a bed of red roses, their petals and stems pointing in all directions. As his eyes roamed up the locker, they seemed to go deeper into the painting itself, down the painted path and into the grove of trees in the background. She definitely had talent, he had to give her that.

He wondered what it could mean.

He jumped as the late bell sounded. For the first time in his career as a student he was late, not because of a king duty, or his father's need of his assistance, but because of a normal high school student reason: distraction.

By the time he got to the Chemistry classroom, Mr. Delay had already started his hour of instruction. Ben entered, his head held high, ready for whatever punishment one of the most strict teacher at Auradon Prep could dish out. He was almost looking forward to it- Anything to get out of the annual meeting of the farming commission.

"Take your seat, King Ben," Mr. Delay told him, as if he hadn't been late at all, then he continued to lecture on the bonding of elements on the periodic table. All of his teachers had been instructed to let any lateness slide, no matter what the reason.

What teacher in their right mind would give the king of the entire nation detention?

Ben stayed standing, something Mal had said had stuck with him. "I was late for personal reasons," He explained, feeling the eyes of the other students on him, a welcome distraction to Mr. Delay's actual lesson. "The student handbook states that tardiness is dealt with swift action." He knew the handbook better than anyone, he was class president and had helped form some of the more reasonable rules. "Detention for any student that is tardy by more than five minutes, who is a disruption to class, or has been late on several occasions," He quoted. "I fit that criteria, so it's only fair," He continued, and he could hear the gasps of the students behind him. "I don't want to be treated differently because I'm the king," he explained.

Then he waited.

"Very well," Mr. Delay answered, not able to hide his annoyance at the interruption. "Two hours of after school detention today," he spoke and the entire classroom was in a buzz as he wrote out the pink detention slip. "I trust you know your way to the detention wing?" He asked and Ben nodded before walking up the aisle to take his detention slip.

He sat next to his lab partner, Jane, who looked absolutely horrified, and tried not to smile too much.

"Everyone quiet down," Mr. Delay called the class back to order and then it became like any other class. Notes, and wayward thoughts of Mal and her locker art, and the twelve or so days that remained of their distance and all the opportunities that the VKs would have to sabotage them, and how much of an idiot he was already being around her.

The farmers commission meeting would have to be rescheduled.

* * *

Mal sighed as she plopped down into the desk of the empty classroom. It was the first day of classes after the coronation and she had landed herself in detention for the stupidest of reasons.

Not only had she been late to class, but she had tried to explain why she was late, argued with the instructor and the class representative and was given another hour of detention. It took every inkling of good in her body to not curse the class rep and the instructor and turn them into newts until they saw her way.

So much for being good. It must have been a record for shortest detention time after being declared good. No one at Auradon Prep got detention, they just kept the classrooms to promote honesty and duty and everything else good and to deter troublemaking.

And yet there she was, in the deserted classroom, waiting for whatever instructor had drawn the short straw to host detention especially for her. At least in detention she couldn't possibly run into Ben, Jay maybe, but never Ben.

The door opened and Mal tried not to look too interested in which instructor had drawn the short straw to sit with her in the stark classroom for two hours. She definitely had to hide her surprise when a familiar head of honey hair entered followed by Mr. Delay.

"Hey Mal!" Ben exclaimed as he tried to hide his surprise. "If you're here because of the painting, it wasn't me." She tried to ignore him.

"Take your seat and be quiet," Mr. Delay cut him off, trying not to be too harsh with the king of the nation. "This is detention, not social hour."

Mal had never been so thankful for the brash chemistry teacher. She was so going to get her revenge on her fellow VKs when she was released from detention. She didn't know how they had found out, or how they had even convinced the instructors to give Ben detention, but she would get her revenge.

"You," Mr. Delay pointed to Mal, "Write 'I will not argue with my teachers and classmates' as many times you can in two hours." So it was the old fashioned write out what you did wrong and feel the burn of shame technique. "And you, your majesty," He added out of reverence and it made Mal roll her eyes. Even in detention he got the royal treatment. "Write: 'I will not be late and disrupt class.'"

Mal couldn't let that one go. No one ever got detention for just one tardy, least of all the King of the entire nation. He must have fought for detention and that was almost laughable. The VKs must have found out that she had gotten detention and had somehow convinced him to get himself thrown in too.

"That's all you did to get into detention?" She scoffed. "I bet you probably asked to get detention, didn't you, Goody Two Shoes?" No instructor in their right mind would give the king detention or face Former King Beast's wrath. "I bet Evie or the boys told you I was here," She continued.

"Miss Blackheart!" Mr. Delay answered, "Would you like to make it four hours?" He asked her, threatening more hours as if it would make a difference. He would have to stay just as long.

"I had no idea you were going to be here," Ben answered, pulling his notebook from his book bag like the Goody Two Shoes he was. "And I did ask for it," He admitted, looking up at her, a few desks away. "There should be no special treatment of anyone just because of their royal status," He explained.

"Your majesty," Mr. Delay answered, his tone quite changed from when he had threatened more hours for Mal.

"Would I like to make it four?" Ben asked, looking toward Mr. Delay. "I don't know, Mal, should we make it four?"

She could feel her anger rising. "You are such a-" she found herself at a loss for words. "A-" if she was going to come up with an insult it had to be a good one, a great one, whether everyone thought they were dating or not. "A puffed up pompous ass!" She settled on, though she could do much better if given enough preparation.

Ben just laughed. Mr. Delay fumed at the desk. "That's four hours, Miss Blackheart," He told her. "Now do as you're told."

"I'm a pompous ass?" Ben asked, his smile almost criminal as Mal tried to avoid him at all costs. He laughed. Mal tried to focus on her anger or risk laughing with him. "For trying to promote equality and fairness to all students, regardless of status?" He asked.

"Your highness-" Mr. Delay started, his tone almost timid around the new king.

Ben didn't stop. "Well you're a-" he struggled to find the right words, faltering into a stuttering mess, and Mal had to admit it was nice to see him not so regal or put together. "A-"

"An evil bitch?" Mal suggested, finally catching his eyes, her smile wicked. "Or shall we go with something with more bite?" She asked him. "It's probably a word you've never heard before so I'll spell it out for you. C-U-"

"Miss Blackheart!" Mr. Delay shouted, leaning hard on the desk, "That is six hours!"

Mal still kept her eyes on Ben. "Where's your fairness and equality now?" She asked him.

After that, Ben seemed to shut up and detention went on as usual for about twenty minutes before Ben spoke again.

"If we had an instructor that wasn't such a coward, he would give me four hours too," Ben said. Mal looked up from her sketch filled paper, at Mr. Delay first, then Ben, not sure where to focus. "What do I have to do to get taken seriously? Threaten the guillotine?" He asked and Mal couldn't help but let out a giggle. It was something she could never imagine.

Mr. Delay was not pleased. "You have a long way to go before you become the king your father was, young man," He spoke, suddenly finding his courage.

"And let me guess," Ben continued, "You don't want to put too many hours of detention on my academic record?" He asked. "Well in that case, I have something to tell you, Mr. Delay." He stood to his feet and stood square to the chemistry teacher, his confidence otherworldly. "You are older than the school itself, your toupee looks like a small animal crawled on top of your bald head and died, and the only woman who will ever love you is your mother."

Mal stared, completely stone faced, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Any other student would get several hours added on, or if it was her or any of her friends, suspension, then detention for weeks and extra remedial goodness assignments. But Ben, the King of the entire nation?

"Four hours, Mr. Adamson," Mr. Delay answered forgetting to address Ben as his title. Mal knew he wanted to say so much more after being insulted, but he was probably debating if his guillotine threat was real.

"That's it?" Ben asked and Mal swore he was trying to get more hours than she was. Like he was trying to prove something. What an idiot. "No one would ever want to marry you due to your large nose and your affinity for smelling worse than the frogs dissected in biology," He continued. He had to be getting insult lessons from somewhere.

She stared forward, keeping her emotions as locked away as possible. If the entire situation wasn't so strange she would find it oddly tickling at her heart and spreading a warmth through her entire body. Ben trying to be evil and promote equality at the same time was definitely cute.

"Eight hours!" Mr. Delay answered, completely forgetting the possibility of six hours, and Mal stared. It was like watching a fight and waiting for the casualties in the aftermath.

Usually she liked to jump in on fights though.

"You think those are insults?" Mal asked, finally drawing the attention back to her. She couldn't have the king of the entire nation have more hours of detention than her, the daughter of the Mistress of Evil. "You've got to hit where it hurts." It was hardly fair, since Mr. Delay was already steaming. "Your mother was a streetwalker that would spread her legs for any common farm animal and judging by that thing on your head, you might be related to a goat," She confronted Mr. Delay. Then she turned to Ben. "You are an idealistic know-it-all and you will lose your kingdom due to your naivety, Pup." That was what her mother had called him, wasn't it?

"Miss Blackheart!" Mr. Delay bellowed. "That is eight hours!"

Mal snorted, knowing she couldn't be even with the goody two shoes. "Did you cry when your father left your mother for your sister?" Mal asked. "Or were you disappointed because you lost your chance at her?"

"Ten hours, Miss Blackheart!" Mr. Delay bellowed, his face purple with anger. "And if you continue, I will not hesitate to suspend you indefinitely."

"Mal!" Ben warned her, but she knew better than that. She had proved her point. "You should really shut your pretty little mouth, or I will have to step in and force you to shut it."

Mal couldn't help but smile an evil smile at that thought. It was happening a lot more lately, her thoughts going to that place that she had never really been before, especially with a boy, a king no less. Then her thoughts came crashing down as she remembered what he had unknowingly promised.

"I'd like to see you try," Mal answered. "And just how do you plan on matching my ten hours, King Ben?" She asked, knowing Mr. Delay was past his limit with her, but feared retribution for his actions against the king of the entire nation.

"Cover your ears," Ben answered, his smile taking a turn for the wicked. "It's not the type of language a lady should hear." Mal stared at him. He knew where she had grown up and all the terrible things she had heard and seen. "Just humor me," he added.

And she did.

Ben stood from the desk and closed the distance between him and Mr. Delay's desk, standing with his back to Mal so she couldn't even try to read his lips. She even uncovered her ears and she still couldn't hear a peep from him.

"Very well," Mr. Delay answered as Ben turned away from him slightly, to check on her, she guessed. "Ten hours, Mr. Adamson."

Then all was quiet again as Ben resumed his seat and turned his attention back to the notebook before him.

An entire week of detention, and for what? Closeness to Ben without breaking his conditions? Was she really as idiotic as she felt?

Fifteen minutes later, an attendant of the kingdom appeared, the royal blue uniform and the gold accents nearly unmistakeable. "Your majesty," he spoke with a gentle urgency, his dark hair swept from his face in a very old style. "There is a matter that requires your attention."

And just like that, Mr. Delay let Ben leave.

So much for equality.


	6. Chapter 6

Ben looked up from the photographs the royal photographer had sent him as the first bell of the morning rang. He was supposed to pick his top five and send them off to be the faces in the new campaigns all around Auradon, promoting his ideals.

The only problem? They were all terrible.

He had spent nearly four hours in front of the camera the afternoon before, the little squinting photographer catching nearly every angle of him, but they all looked the same as he flipped through them quickly between classes. He looked stiff and nervous and like an unsure little child.

He absolutely hated them. To see them all around Auradon for upwards of years, to have his friends and family see them, and for the future generations to see them in history books? He felt like vomiting.

He shoved them away, under his letter jacket in a messy folded pile on the shelf in his locker as he caught the glimpse of Mal's exquisitely painted locker opening not too far away. She would never let it go if she saw them. He already had enough on the line with her over the next several days. He would not let her in on the shame of the terrible photo proofs.

Though a thought did strike him as he stared at the less than pristine brush strokes against the metal, that hid Mal away from him. In a way, he was thankful. The amount of staring he did when he knew she wasn't looking was criminal.

There was a ton of artistic talent at Auradon Prep and someone had to know how to use a camera just as well as a professional, if not better. He knew what he wanted his royal photographs to portray, but he couldn't be both the photographer and the subject and expect them to be any good. He would rather trust a fellow student than the royal photographer again.

The bell rang again and the other student around him scurried to their classes. He was more aware of his possible lateness after the situation in chemistry, but he took his time heading to the locker room for Phys. Ed, he knew he had time.

It was only when he reached his locker and found it devoid of his gym clothes that he remembered the weekend and what had happened on Saturday. He would have found it sooner, if the monetary council hadn't needed him for the finance meeting on Monday. It was definitely not easy being king and a high school student.

"Something wrong, King Ben?" Carlos asked next to him with a knowing smile as both he and Jay stood, stripped from their school clothes and half into their gym clothes.

He knew they knew, but he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction. "I must have forgotten to wash my gym clothes this weekend," He covered, not wanting them to see him flustered. They had to know that the school laundresses went through the lockers on Friday nights and laundered all of the gym clothes. There was no reason his locker should be empty, besides the fact that he had lent them to Mal.

It was better than having her navigate the rest of the school naked, he reminded himself.

"Those darn fan girls," Jay answered with a smirk and even Ben laughed at that. "Looks like you'll have to ask for loaners," He shrugged before he pulled his gym shirt over his broad shoulders.

Coach wouldn't let him get by with loaners. He had had him write his name on a brand new pair of gym clothes and by the time Ben got out onto the field the teams for basketball were pretty much set.

"Are you as good at basketball as you are at tourney?" Jay asked him, throwing him the ball in practice as two of the other teams played each other and the others practiced their passing and shooting on the other court.

"Not really my sport," Ben answered as he tossed the ball back to Jay. Then his mind returned to the terrible photos in his locker and the several regal props that had made him just feel foolish, only to be whacked by the basketball as it came back to him.

"You ok, man?" Jay asked and Ben nodded, his attention back where it should be, on the ball that had hit him. "You seem a little distracted."

A little was quite the understatement.

"Is a certain shade of purple occupying the corners of your mind?" Carlos asked, moving closer to them and bringing the ball back.

"Of course," Ben answered darkly, opening up to her friends probably more than he should yet again. "Because I always want what I can't have," He added, taking the ball from Carlos and dribbling it absentmindedly.

"Carlos and I might have a way to help you get her," Jay suggested, "Well we can't take all the credit." He continued. "Evie told us to put them in your locker."

Ben stared at Jay and then Carlos. They knew something and weren't telling him. He thought he had specifically asked them to stay out of it, but they were VKs, and if they were anything like Mal, listening wasn't really their strong suit.

It didn't remain a mystery for too long, just the rest of the period. As Ben dressed back into his usual pants and blazer, his hand closed around the thin material. He pulled whatever it was slowly, as if it were a snake about to bite him, then he couldn't help but smile as he recognized the familiar plaid material, in a deep purple.

It was a pair of purple boxer shorts.

Ben looked to Jay and Carlos as they changed. "You three are evil," he told them. "Mal and I haven't even kissed yet and you want me to get practically naked." He couldn't help but laugh at the awkwardness of the whole thing. He technically already did get practically naked with her at the lake.

"With any luck, she'll get you full naked," Jay answered, waggling his eyebrows, "If I were a girl, those abs would sway me."

"Well thank goodness you're not," Ben answered. "It would be a little weird to have a girl in the locker room with naked teenage boys," He glared right at both of them, knowing all of the VKs had been in on the plan. "Oh wait!" He added. "You already did that."

Both Jay and Carlos laughed. "You should see what Evie sewed up for Mal," He said before Jay clapped his hand over his mouth.

Was that their next plan? Ben wondered. Force them into a confined space with barely any clothes on and hope that they got naked to work out their differences? Ben knew that would never go well. He knew he would have to stay on his toes, especially with any opportunities alone with Mal.

"So what else is on your mind?" Jay asked, trying to cover for Carlos' little mistake. Apparently the equivalent to the boxers in his hand was supposed to be some kind of surprise. "You can't be that distracted just because of Mal." Curse the VKs for being able to read him like a book.

"I got ten hours of detention," He told them, hoping that would be enough to throw them off his real issue. They both stared at him in disbelief. "So did Mal," He continued. They had to know about her detention too at that point. "And I have all of the same homework, and kingly duties at the drop of a hat and I need to take photographs for the posters and billboards around Auradon. So do you guys know anyone who's good with a camera?" He asked.

Maybe they could help him out.

* * *

"Mal!" Evie shouted and Mal turned to see Evie darting toward her down the mostly full hallway. It was never a good thing if Evie looked that excited. "I need your help," the blue haired girl continued as she caught up to her.

Mal kept walking, she had no reason to stop for Evie. She had kept her silence since the locker room incident, as much as she could, but she definitely didn't want to help Evie. "Sorry," she said, continuing down the hall toward the library for their free period. "I've got to get some homework done before detention."

"Come on, Mal," Evie continued to follow her down the hallway as the other students passed them. "I promise you'll like it. You've never said no to painting before." Mal turned to her.

"Painting?" Mal asked, looking toward the younger girl. Just what was she trying to pull? Was it her way of trying to apologize for her and the boys' scheme?

"Yeah," Evie answered, catching up to her. "The Student Body Princess Alliance needs help painting the backdrops for the spring dance." Of course, the spring dance, the one that just happened to be at the end of the two weeks of separation between her and Ben. "Audrey wanted me to ask you, since you are obviously a better painter than you are a cheerleader." Typical for Evie. She knew exactly which buttons to push to make Mal do things, like paint backdrops, or try out for cheerleading because she knew Ben wouldn't be there.

"I wish I could," Mal answered, "but I unfortunately have eight hours of detention to go."

Why had she insisted on trying to match Ben, who had been almost instantly called away for a kingly duty again? Right, because she couldn't have the perfect golden boy having more detention than her. To anyone else, it would look like they did it to spend time together, like any romantic couple would do. Because detention is so romantic, right?

"We're actually starting them at lunch," Evie explained, "Just come to the grass behind the gym at lunch if you want to join us." Then Evie disappeared off down the hall toward her next class.

It could be an interesting way to pass the time, and she had always liked painting. And anywhere Audrey was, Ben wouldn't be.

* * *

Ben looked at all of the faces of the students around him who had so graciously agreed to move the Mock Council club meetings from after school to lunch all because of his ten hours of detention. He knew they couldn't have their usual hour long meeting, since lunch was barely half that time, but it was better than nothing.

"Thank you for moving around your schedules so we can continue to meet up for Mock Council," he began as most everyone was there. "It's not an easy task to readjust and I appreciate your dedication."

How had he been such an idiot to get ten hours of detention? He had asked for the first two, and then Mal, she had challenged him and he needed to show her he was serious. That he wasn't the golden boy that she and her friends thought he was.

"Where did we leave off last week?" He asked, looking to Doug, who was both the official documenter and the representative from Charmington.

"What should be done about the isle," Doug answered, "We last spoke about the option of release and parole for those imprisoned there."

Of course they were. He had hoped that Mock Council would take his mind off of Mal, but no such luck he guessed.

"Who last had the floor?" Ben asked.

"I did," Aziz answered, standing from his desk. Ben gave him the nod to continue. "We in Agrabah believe that none of the villains from the isle should be granted freedom, no matter how much time has passed." Then he went on to explain how gruesome Jafar had terrorized the citizens of Agrabah and how much magic he could still possess though he was no longer a genie.

Ben was honestly bored with his predictable response. Though the rest of the states seemed to agree with him. The villains should not ever be released or paroled.

He had promised himself he wouldn't think about Mal, but it was just too easy to ask his next question. "What about their children?" He asked, "If we were to bring over their children to live here in Auradon permanently?"

Jane, the delegate from Cinderellasburg raised her slender hand. He gave her the floor. "From the data we already have," she began, avoiding his eyes, "It seems like it would be a good idea." Ben couldn't argue with her there, bringing over Mal and the others had been a good idea. "But we just don't know what disaster they could bring," Jane concluded.

"So we just leave them there to suffer for their parents' mistakes?" Doug answered out of turn. He had obviously been paying attention to Ben's thoughts and ideals. "That doesn't follow the stance of Auradon on goodness." Ben seriously wanted to hug him, if it weren't so unkingly.

"What would you have us do?" Ben asked him, quite interested in his proposal. Their parents had been stiff in their shunning of the villains, but that was the beauty of politics. There were always young people with new ideals.

Doug thought about it. "Have other schools do what we've done here," he suggested, "Bring over a few at first, the younger the better, I suppose, and acclimate them to life in Auradon."

Ben knew he had to ask it. "And if they do not renounce their evil ways?" Mal and her friends choosing good could have practically been a miracle, even he knew that. She had love spelled him just to get closer to the wand. There were bound to be more attempts and he knew it.

"We find ways to get through to them," Doug suggested. "Having them join sports, or after school activities, something to distract them from their evil tendencies," Doug caught his eye and Ben knew exactly what he was talking about. Mal and her friends and how they had been shown the better things in Auradon. "Charmington is all for giving second chances to the children of our enemies."

And yet from what he had heard, Doug still hadn't regained his courage to talk to Evie after family day.

"Thank you for your willingness to lead the way," Ben answered. "And for setting the example for future generations." He looked right to Doug, thinking about how they were in similar situations. Though Doug was ruled by his fear, and Ben himself was ruled by duty. "And if we don't accept them, then who will?" He asked. "We have a chance to lead into the future, and who better than to lead the union, but us?" So he was thinking about more than Mock Council and he was thinking about Mal, yet again.

No one dared argue with him and he appreciated that. Not that it really mattered, since it was just Mock Council, but it was good practice for when the real Council of the seven kingdoms came around over the summer.

After that, the time seemed to fly, and before he knew it, lunch had come to an end and the Mock Council meeting had come to an end. He was able to even distract himself from thinking about Mal for the rest of the time. Most of the students flew off, rushing to their next classes, but Doug and Jane stayed behind, packing up their backpacks. Their classes must have been pretty close.

Jane left and Ben was in no rush to leave for Chemistry. Things had been strained, to say the least, between him and Mr. Delay, but he was not about to get more hours of detention either.

It was lucky he stayed, he supposed, as Doug pulled a camera from his bag. Maybe he could be the one to take the pictures. He just had to approach it with the utmost care and not sound desperate at all.

"You take photos?" Ben asked, looking down at the camera then up to Doug. There were apparently a lot of things he didn't know about the predicted salutatorian of their class.

Doug looked down at the camera in his hands, then up to Ben. "I do," he answered, "but I don't really have the artistic eye for it," he explained. "This one's not mine. I was actually going to teach someone how to use it after school."

It was worth a shot, Ben figured. "Would you be willing to take some shots of me for the billboards around Auradon?" He asked. "The Royal photographer took some pretty terrible shots, and I need them by Friday."

Doug looked down at the camera again. "I really don't have the artistic eye for it," he repeated, "They would probably look worse than the original photos." Ben should have figured. "But I'll find you someone to take some great shots for the campaign," He assured him. "Just tell me where you want to take them, and I'll have them meet you there."

Ben knew he shouldn't get himself out of detention willy nilly, but the photos that would be seen for years to come were a little more important than a few hours of detention. "Tomorrow afternoon at the front of the castle," he decided, figuring it would be best to get a variety of shots. The more they took, the better the chance that there would be at least a few good ones.

At least that was one problem solved.

"So how are things with you?" Ben asked after a few long seconds. He needed something else to focus on besides his own problems. "Any development on the Evie front?" He knew nearly as much about Doug's relationship issues with Evie as he did about his own with Mal. Rumors did tend to travel fast where the VKs were involved.

Doug looked about as tormented as he felt. "I just can't get up the nerve to talk to her and explain everything," he explained. "Family day was a disaster," Ben couldn't agree more, "And it's not like I can just walk right up to her and tell her how I really feel."

Ben didn't understand why not. That was exactly what he wanted to do to Mal. "Here's what you do, Doug," he said, knowing full well that the VKs had probably given him some of the same advice he had received. "You go up to her, maybe at her locker," That was where he usually ran into Mal most often. "Take her in your arms and kiss her hard." How bad he wished he could just do that with Mal. "Then when you both have to come up for air, it will be easier to explain." Or so he hoped. "You can even brush her violet hair out of her eyes and kiss her again rather than explaining," He added, then he realized his mistake and tried to cover it with a cough. "I mean her-" Crap! What color was Evie's hair?

"Her blue hair?" Doug asked, and Ben just nodded quite embarrassed as the tardy bell rang. "Thanks for the advice," he continued, "Maybe you should follow your own."

Ben sighed as he picked up his backpack. Mal was another matter entirely. He was half considering the VKs plan to woo her with the purple boxer shorts, or taking his own advice.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day at lunch, Mal decided to humor Evie and show up to help paint the backdrops. It wasn't like her research in the library was helping to keep her mind off Ben. Maybe with Audrey harping at her again it would be easier not to think about Ben and the possibility of him showing up in detention with that glorious side profile of his.

She had completed the first four hours, and he had showed up at the beginning of each two hour session, but had never stayed. Kingdom duties always pulled him away, but Mr. Delay probably just waived the hours anyway.

"Mal!" Evie exclaimed, pulling her toward the other members of the group rolling out the half finished backdrops. "I'm so glad you came. We're in desperate need of an artistic eye!"

Mal didn't miss how Audrey sent a glare her way. "What can I help with?" She asked, quite pleased at how Audrey's presence seemed to quash any ideas of Ben. She still felt kind of guilty after stealing Ben from Audrey.

"The theme is the decades," Evie explained, "But we're all struggling to come up with what to paint for several of the decade backdrops." She looked over to the other backdrops they had already started. "And Allie's surfboards and beach balls look too much like a part of the male anatomy."

Mal had to admit she was right. Most of their backdrops needed serious work. She should have come the day before and helped them before they fell too far down the rabbit hole.

"I can fix those," Mal said, picking up a paintbrush and leaning down next to the unfortunate backdrop. "And why not a disco ball for the 70's and a ridiculous array of neons for the 90's?" She asked.

"Let's do it!" Audrey answered, rolling out the fresh pieces of posterboard. Of course, everything had to be perfect for the perfect princesses of Auradon and their stupid dance. Then she began sketching, relieved that when the pencil was to the cardboard, her mind was clear.

Though Evie kept sighing next to her and Mal looked to her after several minutes and several sighs later. "Have you still not talked to Doug?" Mal asked, looking toward her blue haired friend, definitely not as into the backdrop as she should be, her eyes far away, somewhere else.

Evie sighed yet again. "It's like he's avoiding me," she explained. "Every chance I try and get him alone he has to run off to other things or he has something else to do."

Mal half wished she would stop running into Ben, that he would be more busy with his kingly duties and stop running into her and making her question their time apart. Thankfully, she was supposed to be thinking about Doug and not Ben. "He is set to be salutatorian, E," She reminded her as she added the flourish to the well planned, well organized 50's poster. "He's bound to be pretty busy with extracurriculars."

Evie scoffed. "You don't seem to be having a problem with the valedictorian himself," she answered, making Mal feel a little guilty. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about Ben like that.

"Not everyone is as persistent or as stubborn as the king," Mal answered, her answer dripping with snark and annoyance. "You might just have to go to him first."

A shadow appeared above her illustration and someone cleared their throat. Mal and Evie looked up to see Doug standing there, a camera between his hands.

Mal wanted to make a snarky remark about it being a little late for last minute yearbook pictures, but she decided it wasn't the time. Instead, she set down her pencil and stood up, brushing the loose gravel from her jeans. She had apparently spoken too soon.

"I'll go see if Allie needs help with the disco ball," she decided, though she knew it couldn't be that difficult to draw and paint a circle. She planned on eavesdropping as soon as she could.

But Doug, it seemed, had other plans. "Actually, Mal," Doug began, avoiding Evie entirely, "I was hoping to talk to you."

Mal looked to Evie and then back to Doug. "Me?" She asked, wondering why he wanted to talk to her and what it had to do with. He wasn't somehow in on the others' scheme to force her and Ben together, was he?

"Yeah," Doug answered with a confidence that almost hid his nervousness. "The next section in your art class is photography and King Ben didn't want you to feel behind." That was so like Ben. "He would do it himself, but-" Then Doug just shrugged and Mal knew exactly what he was trying to say, she was glad it wasn't Ben that had shown up. "So let's take some pictures." He handed the expensive looking camera over to Mal.

She stared at the sleek black machine in her hands, heavy, but not awkwardly so. It was sweet of Ben to think of her like that, and she couldn't help but smile as she thought of the new knowledge she held between her hands. She knew what a camera was, but she had never seen such a nice one on the isle.

"Sounds like fun," Mal decided. "What can I shoot first?" She asked. She couldn't help but grin at how evil it sounded, though it was actually quite innocent.

* * *

The basics of the camera were quite simple. Point and shoot and get a halfway decent picture if the lighting was right. The more complicated details of the quite expensive camera were less simple, but Mal seemed to be picking them up with ease the longer she practiced with Doug.

"Ok," Doug continued, looking at what she thought had been a very artsy picture of the Tourney cannon, "If you want everyone to know you're an amateur." He added and Mal couldn't help but smile at his little evil quip. "The trick to great photos and way less pain later, is get the best photo you can, so you can do less editing later." He readjusted the settings without letting her see, his way of making sure her knowledge would stick, she guessed. "Take a picture of me." He passed the camera back to her.

She looked through the view and adjusted the settings to her liking to catch his likeness the best she knew how. He half posed and she laughed a short laugh. It seemed the perfect time to ask him what she was dying to know.

"What's the deal with you and Evie?" She asked, snapping the picture as his face changed from a smile to an embarrassed red tinge.

Doug sighed. "I can't find the right words to say after Family Day," he admitted and Mal couldn't help but shudder at the thought of Family Day. "I keep trying to come up with something great, but I'm scared." Mal snapped another shot, the moment of Doug's rawness too hard to pass up.

"You want my advice?" Mal asked, then she gave it to him anyway. "Show her this side of you." She showed him the most recent picture she had snapped of him, unposed, a candid of sorts. "And anything remotely romantic," she added, "She's always going on about how she would love for a guy to pull out all the stops. Flowers, chocolates, everything." Mal lowered her voice, "But I know she absolutely would love for you to go talk to her." She handed him the camera as the bell rang.

"Keep it," Doug answered. "There might be a few opportunities that pop up for new photographers. Let me know if you need any help." Then he turned to walk away toward his next class.

"Just talk to Evie," Mal answered, "Everything else will work itself out." She wished things could be that easy with Ben. Not just their distance agreement, but the other issues that surrounded them.

A king dating the daughter of a villain?

She had a feeling it was about to get a lot worse.

* * *

Evie ran to catch up with Mal as she walked toward her last class. "Mal!" She caught her before she got too much further into their classroom. "I just got word from Jane that Ben doesn't have any kingly duties this afternoon." Mal turned to look at her. "If you wanted to ditch detention and give him a bit of his own medicine, today would be the day."

She knew how much Mal hated serving detention, and how she had been attempting to avoid Ben like the plague. She hoped it would work to her advantage. Mal loved trouble making, and Evie knew the best way to get her to do anything was to make her think it was her own idea.

"Thanks, E," Mal answered, and Evie knew just by the glint in her eye that she was planning something. Good, everything would hopefully go as she and the boys had planned. "Wanna go paint the town black this afternoon?" She asked and Evie knew she would have to cover.

"I actually can't," Evie lied. "Doug actually came up and talked to me after lunch." She was lying through her teeth, but she had been taught to wear lies like makeup since she was a child. Only let people see what she wanted them to see.

"Oh?" Mal asked, her smile turning more wicked if that was possible. "I want all the details." The late bell rang and Evie had never been so relieved. "Later, I want to know everything."

Evie knew she would have to come up with something convincing before class let out. Luckily she had close to an hour to try and come up with something more convincing.

Luckily, Mal had a flair for the dramatic.

Everything was normal about class for the first half, the teacher droning on and on about their great advancements that King Adam had made the the United States of Auradon, and of course talking about what was expected of Ben. Evie could see how Mal tended to react when Ben was mentioned, it was like a small electric shock rolled through her. Evie convinced herself that she and the boys were doing everything for Mal and Ben's own good.

Even though some parts of their plan had seemed cruel.

Everything was normal in class, until Mal leaned over unexpectedly and vomited all over the floor near her desk quite convincingly. From the smell, and the bits of food Evie could see, it was real vomit, tinged with bright red blood. When Mal set her mind on something, she committed, even though Evie thought it had been just a bit over the top.

As expected, the students around them freaked out, bits of Mal's eruption splashing some of the students close enough to them, the professor quite concerned. As if that wasn't enough, Mal faked a sob from behind the curtains of her hair.

"I'll take her to the infirmary," Evie decided, standing from her desk and helping Mal clean up a little bit before helping her up from her seat. No one disagreed, so Evie led Mal out into the hallway and toward the infirmary, just in case anyone else had decided to follow them.

"A little over the top, don't you think?" Evie asked in a hushed tone as they passed right by the infirmary and toward the lockers instead. "What if word gets around to Ben?" She continued, "You know he will ditch detention to come visit you in the infirmary."

Mal just smirked. "It had to be believable," she answered, "Everyone would question it if I just said I was sick." She had pulled the stunt a few times in Dragon Hall, though she hadn't had the advantage of magic there. "No one is going to doubt it after that embarrassment," So what if she had to spend a few minutes in the infirmary to get sent up to their room to get better?

"So what are you going to do with your free afternoon?" Evie asked, trying to figure out how to get her to go to the front of the castle with the camera Doug had lent her.

"I dunno," Mal answered, "I was thinking some magic practice with Mommy Dearest," she continued, "Or maybe I'll go explore the parts of the school that no one wants to show us." She knew Mal had a flair for the untraveled paths. "Take notes for me?" She asked, knowing Evie had to go back.

"Sure," Evie answered. "How are you liking the camera?" She asked as they reached Mal's locker and she pulled out the camera. Evie should have known she would have liked it, it was art and Mal and art might have well have been soulmates.

"It's pretty sweet actually," Mal answered, looking down at it. "It's not quite the same as painting, but I could get used to it."

That was Evie's opening and she knew it. "Good," she answered, "Because I might know of someone who needs a few pictures taken, if you're interested." She could tell Mal was interested from the moment she mentioned pictures. "Someone needs pictures for the yearbook," she continued, "It shouldn't even take you that long and you can have the rest of the afternoon free."

Mal shrugged, "Where?" She asked and Evie tried not to do a happy dance. Things would definitely go as planned.

"The front of the castle after school," Evie answered, "but you might want to freshen up before then." In order to be convincing, Mal had gotten orange chunks of something in her hair. "I would wear the blazer from Family Day," Evie suggested. "It's super cute and professional."

"Thanks, E." Then Mal was darting down the halls incognito and toward their dorm.

Evie watched as Mal left. She hoped things would go well as she turned back down the hallway back toward class when she ran right into Doug, not so incognito.

"Ben sent me," Doug explained, steadying her with his hands around her arms. "He heard Mal erupted like Vesuvius and wanted a first hand report." How romantic! Doug was only talking to her to get a report on Mal for Ben. Just great!

"She's fine," Evie answered, pushing past Doug to get back to class. If he still wanted to keep his distance, she could play the part of the ice queen just fine. "She just wanted an excuse to get out of class and detention." She hoped she could trust him, even if he was spineless. She didn't know how much he knew of the plan anyway, just that Jay and Carlos had recruited him to teach Mal the camera.

"I figured as much," Doug answered gently, his eyes catching hers. It seemed like everything had fallen away but his hazel eyes shrouded behind his thick glasses. "Your schemes to try and get them together before the Spring Dance are pretty awesome, by the way." He turned away to get back to class.

He must be talking to Jay and Carlos.

"Wait!" Evie called a little too loud in the empty, quiet hallway. Doug turned and Evie felt her breath getting caught in her throat. "Don't tell Ben that she's ditching detention," she continued.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Doug answered. "I'll just say she's fine, like he asked." Then he turned away again and Evie felt her heart sink.

"Wait!" Evie called again, then she closed the few steps of distance he had put between them. "Would you want to get together and do something after school?" She asked. Maybe Mal had been right and she could make the first move.

What happened next she didn't expect. Doug closed the distance between them further and in one fluid motion took her face in his hands and put his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. "I'll meet you by the bleachers," he said as he pulled away.

Evie didn't miss the blush that crossed his cheeks. Maybe she didn't need a prince after all.


	8. Chapter 8

Mal pinned her hair up in a rushed haze as she realized how much time it had taken to shower and get the vomit smell out of her hair. If she just let it do what it wanted it would be a frizzy mess, so she pinned it into tight curls in a short amount of time, grabbed the camera and left the dorm she shared with Evie. She didn't want to be late after all.

The front of the castle was still crowded from the other students getting out of class and Mal hung back. It wouldn't be a good idea to get caught when she was supposed to be sick. As she watched and waited, she couldn't help but notice Ben, his golden hair and the crown catching the sun as he sat against the statue of his father.

She couldn't resist the urge to snap a quick shot of him as he sat there, looking outwardly confident as usual, but she could sense a nervousness just under the surface. It was a beautiful candid, and if they ever were close again, she would have to show him.

Minutes passed and most of the students cleared, leaving a few stragglers and Ben, still at the statue. Wasn't he supposed to be going to detention that afternoon? Though if he was, why would he be wearing the crown?

She had to get to the front of the castle to meet her subject and take a few of their photos for the yearbook before they thought she wasn't coming, so she pulled up the hood on her hoodie and moved toward the opposite side of the statue, waiting for anyone else to show up besides Ben. The last thing she needed was Ben to be fawning over her, especially since they weren't supposed to be alone, per his terms. That, and she wasn't exactly sure how to act around him after detention and their awkward shower encounter.

After nearly ten minutes of no one showing up, and the courtyard clearing completely, Mal figured that there could be one of two possibilities. Her subject didn't show up or her subject was Ben, and Evie and everyone else involved was a dirty liar. If she had to guess, she would say the second one.

Still, she refused to let Ben see her frazzled. "Aren't you supposed to be in detention?" She asked, sneaking closer toward him and making him jump. She had spooked him and it brought a wicked smile to her lips.

He turned to face her and caught her eyes with a small smile. "Aren't you supposed to be sick?" He answered back. Then everything seemed to change when he saw the camera around her neck. He laughed and she found a different kind of smile pulling on the edges of her lips. "Your friends are crafty," he said and she waited for more of an explanation, since he obviously seemed to know more than she did.

"My friends?" Mal asked. "I'm pretty sure Doug was the one who first mentioned this little get together."

Ben laughed at that, though things were still awkward. "Fair enough," he decided, "Everyone just wants to force us together."

"Safe assumption," Mal answered, looking around the courtyard. "So if all they wanted was for me to snap a few pictures, I'll not give them the satisfaction." She turned away from him and began to walk back toward her dorm, if she had at least one free afternoon that week, she wasn't going to let it go to waste.

"Wait!" Ben called out, chasing behind her. "The photos part is real," he explained. He was embarrassed by something about the whole situation. After several seconds of a painful silence, he continued, "I need to take pictures for my campaign around Auradon."

Mal raised her eyebrows. "Your campaign?" She asked, forcing back a giggle. "Like those crappy posters all around the island and on the side of the road?" She couldn't help but quote a few of his father's, then she laughed. "What are yours going to be?" She asked, "'Trust this baby face to fix everything!'?" His cheeks pinked up. "Or what about 'Baby takes the reins'?"

"Very funny." He was obviously not amused. "Look, I need better pictures taken by Friday, so can you help me, or not?" He asked.

It was exactly what Evie and the boys and Doug wanted, but there was something about Ben's desperation that made her want to help him. Though she wasn't about to be so upfront about it.

"I dunno," she answered, "This could be my only free afternoon out of detention and that spell is still making my stomach a bit queasy." Any excuse to make him think she wanted to get out of it. She was not about to let him know that she was looking forward to some time with him.

Ben did his best not to seem too desperate. "I'll make it up to you," he answered a little too quickly and Mal felt the smile pull at the corners of her lips. "Just please, help me out." There was no way he wasn't desperate, but it was quite cute.

"It's dangerous to promise things to faeries like that," she started, "But, where do you want to start?" She asked.

"How much camera space do you have?" Ben answered back with a smile that she had missed seeing lately.

* * *

The first few photos were awkward, but Ben expected that. He expected that from any photographer he could find on such short notice. He figured the more pictures they could get, the better the chance he would find a decent few that he wouldn't get queasy looking at for the next decade or so.

Having Mal there, taking the pictures, was just an added bonus. She didn't look sick at all, and Ben figured it had all been a ruse to try and get out of detention.

She looked amazing, and any less of an adjective and Ben knew he would be lying to himself. Her hair was pinned back from her face with several bobby pins in all directions in a style he had never seen before, and her face was perfectly dusted with just a blush as her green eyes met his for what must have been the hundredth time in the last fifteen minutes that they had been taking photos by the statue and then at the entrance of the castle.

She had been snapping pictures of him in relative silence, only saying things to direct him in what she thought would be the best picture, or so he hoped. Simple orders like "smile," or "turn more toward me." They were quite easy to follow, but he would do anything she asked him.

She was giving him quite a different look than he expected though, one he had yet to see from her. He tried to decipher it as she snapped several photos, the camera between her hands like an extension of herself. She looked completely comfortable with the camera, even though she had only had it for a few days.

"What is this look you're going for?" Mal asked, pulling the camera away from her face and looking at him without anything between them. With her eyes on him, he felt nearly as naked as he had been in the locker room as he leaned against the table at the entrance of the school with the large vase of flowers waiting for her to take the next shot. "Uncertainty and fear?" She asked. "Because I'm not sure that's what you want to convey for the next decade or so."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "You want the truth?" He asked her as he caught her eyes, figuring she had to be just as nervous as he felt. "I'm not really comfortable with having my picture taken." Her face changed and he knew he should leave it at that, but he continued anyway, looking toward his parents crest, the one that was all over the school and the kingdom. "Growing up, my parents were so ecstatic that they chronicled nearly every hour of my childhood with pictures." He realized that she must have had quite a different childhood entirely. "My dad has a shrine in his office and it's just-" he met her eyes again, "-weird."

She took a few steps closer to him and he heard the distinct click of the camera capturing his likeness again. There was barely enough space between them for the camera and yet she had somehow got a shot, and one that he figured probably wasn't the best either.

"Did you know you have a scar right here?" She asked, touching her fingertip to his forehead and his hairline with the gentlest of touches. "It's tiny, but I can see it." Her fingers, against his forehead so close to his hair, were gentle but slightly chilled. He wished she would run her fingers through his hair and that they could forgo the whole distance agreement. There was nothing more that he wanted to do than shove her into a wall and have his way with her.

"Another kid whacked me on the head with a rattle in preschool," he explained, taking a deep breath and shaking what he couldn't do from his head. He wondered what had made her bring it up.

"I'm sure your parents banished him and his parents to the Isle for scarring the future king's precious forehead," Mal answered with a small smirk as she pulled her hand and her eyes away. She took a few steps away from him and picked up the camera from where it hung around her neck. "So where do you feel most comfortable here at Auradon Prep?" She asked snapping another picture of him.

Ben chuckled. There was at least one thing they had in common. "The library," he answered.

Mal led him up the stairs toward the library, which would most likely not be empty, but he didn't care. It was where he felt most comfortable and he was sure they could find a bit of empty space where they wouldn't be bothered. If not, being king did have a few perks.

As expected, the library was far from empty. Most of the tables were full of students studying for their next exam, or students working on projects for their classes that were swiftly coming to an end as the semester drew to a close. No one seemed to notice them as they moved toward the stacks, where there were bound to be less people.

He could hear the click of the camera before she even directed him to pose. He didn't mind it though, there was something completely different about Mal holding the camera, something that he liked. If he was honest, there was something about Mal in general, her presence that he appreciated.

"Are you trying to get the most embarrassing pictures of me?" He asked in a hushed tone. "I doubt any of these are campaign worthy." Then he froze and turned to face her, her face taking an almost hurt quality. "I mean-" he didn't know what he had meant.

"No," Mal answered, "I get it." She let go of the camera between her hands and turned to leave. "What chance could an amateur have to get great shots for the kingdom's campaign?" She asked, her voice only raising with anger. He chased after her and she seemed to know. She turned back to face him, stabbing a finger into his chest. "I didn't ask for this," She reminded him. "I didn't ask for any of this!"

He managed to stop her before the majority of the tables and the other students, though he was sure the librarian had already heard her. "I know," he answered. He knew she meant much more than just the photos that afternoon. "I didn't mean it like that." He tucked a wayward curl behind her ear, surprised she had let him get that close. "I want you to keep taking the pictures," he admitted, knowing he didn't want her to escape, knowing he wanted to spend more time with her, even though it had been against his own guidelines. He realized he had been an idiot since the night of the coronation. "Please," he added, not caring about how desperate he sounded.

He heard the distinctive click of the camera between them and he couldn't help but smile. "Fine," she answered, "Lead the way."

He led her toward the history section, where he had always felt the most comfortable, and where very few students happened to be. He had her alone it seemed and yet he didn't know what exactly to say.

She snapped a few more photos before actually bringing the camera to her face and capturing him in the viewfinder, he guessed. Then she took several more without asking him to pose, or even smile.

"What do you want me to do next?" Ben asked her, trying to strike up some conversation between them after several long minutes of her just snapping photos. The awkward feelings from before sinking into his skin. She had been suspiciously quiet since she had agreed and he wondered if she was taking terrible pictures on purpose. "Shall I stand on my head?" He asked, "Serenade you with another song?" He continued, gyrating his hips as he had on the tourney field.

She laughed and he knew he had found his in. "Just do what's natural," she answered, pulling the camera slightly from her face to look at him. "Your dad's photos and paintings were always cheesy and stiff," she admitted with a mischievous smile. "I'm trying to make the new king less of a joke."

He definitely appreciated that. "Your natural and my natural are probably two different things," he said, choosing his words carefully.

"Oh?" She asked, looking up from the camera yet again, almost like she expected an insult to come from his mouth. Any excuse to leave him hanging, he guessed. Maybe things weren't going so well with the distance idea.

"I just mean that your idea of natural and mine are different," he explained. "Your first instinct is probably to catch everyone's attention and make them fear you." He knew she was still taking pictures, but he didn't care. It had been five days and he was already desperate for attention from her. "I am happy to just blend into the background whenever possible."

"That's not very king like," Mal answered, still snapping more pictures. "How do you expect to run a kingdom if all you want to do is blend into the background?" She asked.

Ben smiled. "I'm learning," he explained. "I don't have to rule like my father, you know," he explained and he could see her smile behind the camera.

"That's what everyone expects though, isn't it?" Mal answered and he realized she couldn't be more correct. He figured she had had the same expectations. Everyone expected her to be just like her mother, from the emergency meetings with the dissenters and citizens worried about the VKs in Auradon. "Are you frightened that no one will see you as you want to be seen?" She asked, still continuing to snap shots of him and pulling him from his thoughts.

He hoped his face didn't give him away. "And what scares you?" He asked, turning it on her to catch his bearings enough to feel confident again.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Mal answered, her smile turning mischievous yet again.

"I would," Ben admitted, his smile nearly matching hers. "I do have to save you next time, remember?" He reminded her.

Mal laughed. "Not going to happen Little Benny Foo Foo." He was sure she caught his blush as she called him a new nickname, but it didn't matter. The awkwardness between them had once again faded.

He laughed and she continued to take shots. Then his face fell as the shrewd librarian stood behind Mal, her hands on her hips, her face a scowl. "Your majesty," she started, making Mal jump and Ben try and hide a smile, "I have tried several times to tell you two to quiet down." Ben grimaced and he could see the fear on Mal's face. "If you two can't keep it down, I will be forced to give you detention."

"We'll leave," Ben assured her, taking a few steps forward and taking Mal's hand and pulling her past the librarian and the rest of the students. They could get more accomplished outside of the library. Once they were outside, in the hallway, he turned toward her with a small smile. "I saved you," he told her.

Mal laughed and Ben was quite relieved. "From more hours of detention," she answered, her tone full of sass. "You still have more hours to complete than I do." She snapped another shot of him before he could respond.

"Have you ever considered a career as a paparazzo?" He asked her, catching the camera in his hand as she tried to take another photo. "I could put in a good word with the presses," he added with a smile.

"And get stuck taking pictures of you all day?" She asked, with her typical snark. "I'll pass." She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. "So where to now, or is that enough photos?" She asked.

"I have another place where I'm comfortable here at Auradon Prep," he admitted, "But you can't read too much into it."

Msl raised her eyebrows. "If it's the boys locker room, count me out," she answered. "I've seen enough of it to last me a lifetime."

Ben laughed. "It's not the boys locker room," he assured her, leading her toward the stairs toward the quad.

He just hoped she wouldn't read too much into it.


	9. Chapter 9

It was his office. His. Office. The only student at Auradon Prep to have his own office. Then again, it wasn't like the council would expect him to not have an office, a place to do his kingly duties, but definitely not his schoolwork. Or maybe he did?

Well at least it wasn't his dorm room. That would just be weird.

"You have an office?" Mal asked, looking around and definitely avoiding Ben's eyes on her. He had only been king less than a week and yet he already had a pretty well stocked office, or so it seemed.

"Yeah," Ben answered and she didn't miss the slight embarrassment in his voice. She wanted to turn and catch the look on his face with the camera but she resisted, too mesmerized by the view from the window, of the isle. "It comes in handy when the monetary council wants to have a meeting at the crack of dawn, though they have been known to burst into my dorm too," he continued bitterly.

Mal couldn't help but smile, shaking the idea of ever staying overnight in Ben's room from her head. Not that they could do anything like that for another week or so, if he could hold out the rest of the week and a few days. Or if she didn't find a solution to the problems they faced if they ever did get back together.

"What a beautiful view of the isle you have," she covered, looking across the sea to the Isle of the Lost, the place she hadn't thought about in several weeks.

Ben hummed in response, suddenly close behind her and she did her best not to jump. "Where do you want me?" He asked, and she found herself resisting the snarkiest response.

She turned back to face him. "Where do you feel most regal?" She asked him, trying to shake any idea of romance and any idea of his closeness from her mind, though it was difficult with him so close. She wouldn't be the first one to break and reveal that the supposed distance was too much.

He leaned against his desk, his posture strong and confident, as if he had never told her he didn't like having his picture taken, or that he was happy to not be the center of attention. From there, the pictures became less awkward and forced, and more like they should have been.

Art.

About fifteen or so minutes in, he began giving her a look she couldn't name. A look that was totally ruining the pictures for the campaign. It was like he was staring at her through the camera itself and even worse when she pulled the camera down to review the last few shots.

"What?" She asked, looking up from the camera and right at him again, thinking about what would make a better shot, besides his strange face being gone. She hoped she still didn't have vomit on her face or in her hair. That would just be too embarrassing.

"You're giving me a funny look," he answered, and she couldn't help but let out a short chuckle. She could tell him the same thing.

"Like what?" She asked, suddenly curious.

Ben just smiled, quite a different smile than he had for any of the shots where she had caught him smiling. "Like I'm art," he answered as she snapped the natural shot of him smiling.

She scoffed nervously. "How am I supposed to look at you?" She answered, not sure she wanted to hear his answer, or that she should even give him the opportunity to come up with an answer.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," he continued, but Mal could sense there was more to it than that. That was where he left it. "You weren't really sick were you?" He asked her.

Mal shook her head after a few long seconds. "No," She answered, then she realized that was what Evie and the others had wanted. "Evie told me you were going to be in detention and I wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine." She had no idea why she was being so open with him, but it felt right.

He continued to smile, though his eyes changed. "Do you really want to avoid me so bad that you would make yourself sick?" He asked, quite concerned as his eyes caught hers again. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out about it and come and see if you were ok?" He continued, a blush crossing his cheeks.

She honestly hadn't thought that far. No one had ever cared for her in that way. Her mother had never cared if she was really sick or faking it. On the isle, no one had cared either. Ben was the exception. She tried not to let him know that though, he would never let it go if he found out.

She cleared her throat, and turned her attention back to the camera. "We should really get these pictures taken, so I can get them back to you by Friday." She avoided his eyes and focused on the camera settings that were already set perfectly and didn't need adjusting.

He seemed to let the issue drop and she took a few more pictures of him leaning against his desk, the beautiful blues of the sky and the sea behind him complimenting his suit and the crown perfectly. Then mere minutes later, he brought it up again, from a different angle.

"You must be hungry after faking sick to get out of class," he said, catching her eyes again through the camera. "What do you say to going to Arcadia City for pizza after we're done here?" He asked.

Was he really going to throw out the rest of the two weeks that easily? It had been his idea in the first place, the whole distance thing, hadn't it? Had he realized what he wanted after just- she did the quick count in her head- five days?

"I should really edit these if you need them by Friday," She repeated, though she knew she was lying to herself. Pizza, another date with Ben sounded amazing, but he would have to do better than that if he wanted her back.

He seemed to take her rejection rather well, for a teenage boy, and compared to the boys on the Isle. "Let me see what you have so far," He suggested, "Then I'll tell you if I think they need edits."

That made her laugh. "You're crazy if you think that you're going to put out a campaign without editing the shots," She answered, as he beckoned for her to pass him the camera.

"Just let me see," Ben practically pleaded, and to that she couldn't say no. She passed the camera over to him reluctantly, pulling it from around her neck. Then she watched him as he looked over the pictures she had taken.

He remained relatively stone faced through what she imagined was the first few of Doug that she hadn't erased from the memory card, and the few still life's she had taken as practice. She wondered what made him break into a cute little smile that showed off his dimples, and then she remembered the candid she had taken of him, before she had known that he was her subject. That had to have been it, though the other ones after that were pretty decent, if she did say so herself.

She was so interested in his facial expressions that she nearly missed the tell tale click that he had taken a picture. "Did you just-?" She asked, quite surprised that she couldn't even finish her sentence.

His boyish smile gave him away. "I did," he answered unapologetically. "You can't be the only one having all the fun." Then he took another photo.

Mal wasn't mad, but it didn't mean she couldn't put a little fear into the king. "You better give me that camera right now," she threatened, trying to sound her most menacing, "Or I'll-" then everything went out the window when he took yet another photo.

"Strange isn't it?" He asked her, holding the camera above his head and out of her reach, taking yet another shot. "Having your photo taken?"

"Benjamin Florian!" Mal screeched as she took a few steps closer to grab for the camera and being quite close against him. "If you harm that camera, Doug will have your head," she warned him.

Ben just laughed. "I think Doug's a little more preoccupied with something else lately," he answered, snapping yet another shot of her. "But if you play nice and let me get a few shots of you, I'll give it back."

Mal scoffed in annoyance. Why had she agreed to help him again? Right, because he occasionally made cute faces. "You shouldn't make a dragon angry, you know," she explained catching his eye, "and faeries, well they'll take your firstborn if you're not careful."

"I thought that was witches," Ben answered, his face still in a smile.

"Witches will do that," Mal answered back with a short nod, "But if you promise a faerie something, they'll do anything to make sure they get it." She stopped before she said anything else, explained more than she wanted. It wasn't an issue until they decided what they wanted to do with their relationship, she reminded herself.

Ben seemed to think about that for quite a long time. "So your mom is a faerie," he started, and he seemed to be making the connection. "And your dad?" He asked with uncertainty.

It was a conversation they had yet to have. Not that she wanted to have it. "A weak human," Mal answered, "Or so mother dearest used to say," she continued, as he took another picture.

"So you're half faerie," Ben reasoned, and Mal nodded, wondering if it would really be that easy. "Any ideas who your father could be?" He asked.

Mal shook her head. "Are you doing a report on me or something?" She asked as he took yet another picture, the subtle click alerting her every time, "A report on the VKs for the Parole Board of the Isle?" She continued in a stuffy accent like his servants addressed him. "Their leader seems to have insecurities brought on by daddy issues," she continued, using the same tone. Anything to not have to bring up the issue that faced them if they ever did want to be in a relationship again.

"No," Ben answered, taking yet another shot. "I'm just curious," he added, the click of the camera not hidden by his words at all.

"If you're not careful you're going to waste all of the space on the card and then what?" She asked, "You can't put me on your campaign."

He laughed and slipped the crown from his head, dropping it on top of her pinned back curls, most of which were slipping out and framing her face. "Who says I can't?" He asked, "People aren't necessarily jumping to go against what I say, are they?" He was right, she realized as he took another shot.

"Bold move," she answered, "Giving your crown to the daughter of the kingdom's sworn enemy." She adjusted it so it wouldn't slip over her eyes. "What if she decides to keep it?" She asked, her smile turning quite wicked. She had no doubt he was still taking shots of her, but she wasn't about to admit that she was almost excited to see how they would turn out.

"That's not the real crown," Ben admitted, and Mal had expected nothing less. "It's a close replica, for photos and more risky engagements, but the real one is kept under lock and key."

Mal couldn't help but laugh at that. "That doesn't matter," she answered. "It's the symbolism of the whole thing." She spun with the crown on her head and caught his eye with a satisfied smile. He was giving her quite a different look than what she expected.

"What do you ask of me first, Queen Mal?" Ben asked, stepping away from the desk and moving toward her to bow before her on his knees. Mal sized him up, the fear that he was completely serious giving way to relief as he smiled a slightly wicked smile. "Shall I promise you my allegiance?" He asked, "Shall I promise my kingdom for the chance to merely kiss your hand?"

She stiffened up at that, but forced a smile onto her face. "You are cruel and unusual in your punishments, King Ben," she said, dropping the crown back onto his head gently. "I should be bowing to you." She leaned down to help him back up to his feet.

He took her hands and pulled her down to the floor with him, making her blush before she could control it enough to hide it. "I don't want you to bow to me," he told her, catching her eyes. "Formal events and when I wear the crown in crowds, yes, you have to," he babbled, "but any other time, I don't expect you to bow, whether we are friends or in a relationship."

He brushed a stray curl from her cheek and she couldn't help but straighten against his hand. It was something she still wasn't used to, the close personal touches. The closeness of someone else was still so new.

She had to remind herself that they were still just friends, per his distance idea. "And what are we?" She asked him, just to see the familiar blush cross his cheeks.

Sure enough, he became flustered, and then recovered quickly, as she expected him to. He was never one to stay outwardly nervous for too long. "Ask me again before the Spring Dance," he answered, giving her a small smile.

"I will," Mal answered, as she watched his eyes smile with his mouth. He had to know how cute he was, didn't he? Her eyes moved to the camera, hanging around his neck. "We should probably get these photos finished," she said, suddenly feeling the moment begin to turn sour with potential awkwardness. "I wouldn't want to keep you from any important financial meetings or Princess Teas."

Ben nodded in agreement and passed her the camera back. "My entire afternoon is actually free for once," he explained.

Mal brought the camera back up to her face and focused on Ben quite close, snapping a perfect shot of the lopsided crown and the potential of a small smile playing on his lips.

"All the more reason for you to enjoy it," she said gently.

* * *

Ben did his best to hide his disappointment as Mal stated that she figured they had all the shots she needed. She had definitely started to open up to him more and things had been better than he had hoped for since his suggestion of distance after the coronation. He couldn't believe he was thinking it, but he was glad their friends had interfered that time.

Mal was beautiful as she stood before him with the camera between them. She had done something different with her hair, bringing out the roundness of her cheeks, and the pinkness of her cheeks. Her last few gazes had sent electric shocks down his spine as his eyes met hers. He knew exactly what he was feeling, and he didn't want to let her go.

"How many pictures do you think we got?" He asked her, trying to keep the conversation light. He had already asked her to dine with him and she had shot him down, he wasn't about to jump into the line of fire again so easily.

"Probably about four hundred total," Mal answered, "But take out the fifty or so of me, and the blurry duplicates and the few that are not campaign worthy and I'd say about fifty are yours to choose from." He loved when she babbled. She could go on and on about the chemical reactions that occurred when paint dried and he would be interested.

"Thank you," he told her, realizing the extensive work that she still had to do to make them best for his campaign. "You're really helping me out here." She had to know that, right? There was his entrance to ask her to dinner again. "Let me make it up to you and take you to dinner tonight."

That time she was a bit slower with her response. "I really should start editing these," she said as she put the lens cap back on. It was the same excuse as before that wasn't really an excuse, but he still didn't want their time together to end. "But ask me in a few days." He definitely didn't miss the blush that flashed across her cheeks as she brushed a purple curl behind her ear.

"You're going to start editing tonight?" He asked her, but in all honesty, he had expected nothing else. When she set her mind on something, she tended not to stop until she was done. He knew all about it, he was the same way. He knew any request he made, she would try and wiggle out of it. "Let me walk you back to your dorm," he suggested.

Mal let out a short laugh. "I think I can get to my own dorm," she answered, starting to build up the wall between them, he could just tell. The same wall he had given her reason to build. "But thank you," she continued, before she turned toward the door, "I wouldn't want to take any more time from your free afternoon." Though he was sure it had already turned to evening judging by the dim light outside the vast window and the moonlight beginning to glitter on the sea between Auradon and the Isle.

He knew she could walk back to her dorm by herself, but that didn't mean that she had to. "Please," Ben continued, "I insist."

He expected Mal to read him the riot act of the rebellion of 1607, but instead she just sighed in annoyance. "Fine," She answered, "You can walk me back to the dorm, but don't expect to save me from anything." He knew that. How dangerous could Auradon Prep really be?

Still, he considered it a victory.

They walked back to the girls dorms a good distance apart, though he wanted to reach out and take her hand, or pull her to him and wrap one arm around her shoulders as they made their way back to her dorm. He wanted to, but instead he kept his distance.

He had hoped he could take her out to dinner and break the distance clause there, but she was quite insistent that she would not go to dinner with him until the two weeks were up. He wasn't exactly sure why, it was obvious that she had to have some feelings for him, right? He couldn't help but wonder why she was still so closed off to him as she stopped walking and they waited for the small elevator.

"I'll have these for you by Friday afternoon," She told him, lifting up the camera full of the pictures from their afternoon, "Or would you like them Friday morning?" She asked, and he could tell she was suddenly nervous, very unlike her usual confident exterior.

"Friday afternoon is fine," He answered, knowing their time together was dwindling. He wasn't ready to go back to the awkwardness that had formed between them, and he wanted to hold her there somehow, though he knew dinner was out of the question. "So any ideas about what their next scheme will be?" He asked, knowing if her friends were as determined as she was, there was more to come.

Mal gave him a small smile. "I'm trying not to think about it," She answered, and he had a feeling she guessed that it would only get worse and more awkward, just as he had. "But I'm trying not to let it ruin my week," She continued, "Even if I do have to complete six more hours of detention."

The elevator opened to her floor and she stepped off without waiting for him to follow her.

He knew that was a direct jab at him. "Hey!" He answered, catching up with her, "That was your own fault. I tried to stop you." He had, but Mr. Delay had still been harder on her, the VK, than him, the king of the entire country. "I would be right there with you, if not for all of these kingly duties taking up all of my time." He couldn't believe he was thinking it, but he would prefer hours of detention with Mal rather than the stuffy council meetings and speeches to calm the dissenters.

"Right," She answered with a short nod as they stopped at the dorm that was hers and Evie's. He knew she didn't believe him. "I'll have these for you by Friday," She repeated before she reached for the door handle and ducked inside before he could even argue.

He hung back for a few seconds, and considered bursting through the door and confessing all of his sins to her, starting with the mistake of the distance agreement, and then the thoughts that seeing her in the locker room, just thinking about the possibility of her being naked had done to him, and then going on from there until she forgave him and took him back.

He considered it, and then her scream erupted from behind the door. He burst in anyway with a mighty roar, not knowing what to expect.

Anything to protect Mal.


	10. Chapter 10

Mal nearly screamed again as Ben barreled into the room behind her with a beastly roar. From there, things just became awkward.

What had made Mal scream, which she had instantly regret, was finding Evie, completely naked, with Doug in a similar state, around, on top of and inside of each other, naked as the day they were born. It had been such a shock that she had screamed. The daughter of the Mistress of Evil didn't fear anything, outwardly at least, sex and things of sexual nature were just foreign to her.

That was what she would tell anyone who asked.

And to see Evie and Doug right in the middle of it was just strange. Even more strange to have Ben standing behind her after bursting in with his usual roar. The awkwardness in the room was nearly tangible as Evie and Doug tried to cover what they could and Mal tried to calm her face, which she knew was on fire. Ben behind her, watching the entire thing unfold, making it much worse.

There was just a few seconds of absolute stillness before Mal felt Ben take her arm. "You two are obviously in the middle of something, so we'll come back later," he said quickly as he grabbed her arm and pulled her from her dorm room.

"Dear God make it stop!" Maleficent's small cry erupted from the plastic cage as they darted from the room.

Once she was free of her dorm room, the shock seemed to disappear and Mal found herself laughing. "You didn't plan that did you?" She asked, between fits of giggles, "Just to get me to agree to dinner with you?" She was a VK and though Ben was the poster child for goodness, she wouldn't put it past him to pull a scheme himself.

Especially with the looks he had been giving her lately.

"No," Ben answered, starting to laugh too, "Though maybe I should send them a 'Thank You' card or a cake," he continued, between his chuckles, "'Congrats on the sex and thanks for the opportunity to spend more time with the mini mistress of darkness. Sincerely, Your King Benjamin Adamson'."

That made her break out into more giggles as they walked back toward the elevator. "I don't think you can fit all of that on a cake."

"Have you not seen the cakes of Auradon?" He asked. "I could fit an entire proclamation on one!" He continued to laugh and then a kind of strange silence settled between them. "Of course, you don't have to go to dinner with me," He added, once they stopped laughing about the awkward incident. "If you really want to edit the photos, I can set you up in my office."

Mal gave a quick look up to the dorms. "From the looks of it, they won't be at a great stopping point anytime soon, are you going to offer me your bed if they keep it up?" She didn't know that much about sex and things of a sexual nature, but she figured she wouldn't want to go back for at least a few hours. Evie stayed consistent on tasks until she thought they were completed.

Poor Doug.

"If that's what you need," Ben answered without even a second thought, and Mal had realized what she'd said.

She willed the blush that warmed her cheeks to calm down, but the damage was already done and she couldn't help but laugh at the entire situation again as they rode the elevator down. Ben joined her again, and they continued to laugh until they reached the main quad of the campus. Then Mal knew she had to make a decision.

"You know, I'm not really hungry," She realized as she looked around at the blossoming trees all around campus. Even in the twilight of the day, the campus had a certain romance about it. She wasn't hungry, but she didn't want to be by herself either, not that she was about to admit that, especially not to Ben.

"We could walk around campus a bit," Ben suggested, almost as soon as she stated that she wasn't hungry. It was pretty obvious that he didn't want to leave her company either, though she had guessed that from the multiple times he had tried to extend their time together. And she was inclined to let him convince her otherwise.

Though she wasn't about to make it easy.

"I wouldn't want to take up any more time of what could be your only free evening for a while," She answered. He didn't have to rearrange his whole schedule just because she had walked in on her roommate and her- she didn't even know what they were- going at it. "I'll just head to the library and read more fairy tales." She knew all about Belle's voracious reading habit and she had heard that Ben was the same, judging by his office and the massive shelves of books, the rumors had been true.

"You wouldn't be," Ben answered, a little too quickly. "I was thinking about taking a stroll of the old grounds again, it's been quite a while." he added, and from what Mal could tell there wasn't even a trace of a lie in his words. "You could even get more photos, of me, or still life around campus."

"You don't like your photo taken," She reminded him, but she had a feeling he was about to argue that too. "And it's getting dark, the only still life I could get would be washed out with the camera flash." So her lessons with Doug and his camera hadn't been a total waste of time.

She almost missed Ben's little smile in the growing darkness, though she didn't miss his slight chuckle. "Somehow, you make the process not so torturous," He confessed, "And I could go get a flashlight if you like." He added, his smile mischievous.

She knew the flash would probably blind him, and it would make him look washed out, but she took the shot anyway. He just laughed, not at all what she was expecting, but then again, Ben had always been softer than anyone else she had known. "I'll just have to try and make it torturous again," She decided. "I can't have you calling me every time you need your picture taken for something." Not that she minded, she liked taking his picture. She had never expected that.

"Still more enjoyable than the royal photographer," Ben told her, trying to blink the flash from his eyes, "Though I would prefer you warn me next time so I'm not blinded. You never know what evil could be lurking in the dark."

Mal laughed. "I'm pretty sure I'm the evilest thing in this courtyard right now," She said, her smile quite wicked if she did say so herself. "But it's cute that you still want to try and save me." She took a few seconds to size him up as she suspected his vision was beginning to return. "So where were you planning on taking this stroll?" She asked, finally giving in just a little bit to his request.

"Places you've probably never been shown on campus," he answered, and Mal knew he must have been trying to tease her. "Places only a few people besides me know about," He continued, and Mal figured someone must have told him about her affinity for unknown abandoned places and mysteries. Probably Jay or Carlos, but she wouldn't put it past Evie either. She had been the most cunning lately.

"Places that can most likely get me detention?" Mal asked, knowing there had to be some kind of reason why very few people knew about those places.

Ben chuckled. "If you visit them without faculty or me," he explained, "But I'm sure we can work out something if you're interested in visiting them again." She appreciated that he took into account that they might not be the same as they were before the coronation. She wasn't sure how things would work out in the next week and a half, but she was starting to remember how much she liked spending time with Ben.

"Lead the way," She told him, "There's no one I would rather spend more hours of detention with." She stopped when she realized what she had said, and then snapped another picture with the flash in hopes of distracting him.

* * *

Somehow, walking the deserted campus in the darkness with Ben at her side wasn't so terrible. She expected they would have nothing to talk about, but he had proved her wrong. He had a wealth of knowledge on a lot of things, and a lot of questions to ask her.

"Did you know that most castles built in the 14th and 15th century were built in such a way that the servants were rarely seen?" He asked as he opened the door to the building that held the library and the computer labs and a few faculty offices. "The royals of that era preferred it to look as though their food and goods were bestowed upon them by the gods, or magic, not just lowly servants," he continued to explain as they walked the deserted hallway toward the library and Mal looked skeptical. The tyrant of a librarian had already threatened to kick them out once and Mal needed to stay on her good side if she wanted to continue to research there.

Luckily, Ben led her just past it and toward an unexciting wall. He looked around to make sure no one else had followed them, or was hanging around. Then he looked right to her. "I'm going to have to ask that you don't take pictures for this portion of the school tour," he said as he looked her up and down and then stopped on the camera. "In fact, I must ask that you turn over the camera to me."

Mal scoffed. "Still don't trust the VKs, Little Benny Foo Foo?" She asked, coming up with yet another nickname for him. She loved to torture him with those, whatever their relationship status was, or could be.

She enjoyed the way she could practically see his body language groan before he recovered. "I trust you," he told her, "I proved that with the cookie."

"The cookie that was spelled," Mal reminded him with a small giggle. "You're a little too-" She stopped talking, losing her train of thought as Ben grabbed her and shoved her against the wall, his hands around her hips, his eyes on hers saying something that she wasn't quite sure she liked.

"Why did you spell me?" He asked her.

She felt any attempts at words getting caught in her throat, her eyes trapped on his. She almost forgot that they were supposed to be keeping their distance and apparently so did he. "You said it yourself," she said, forcing the words out and trying to sound less nervous than she felt, "You were with Audrey and I didn't think it could happen on its own, so I whipped up a love spell, but it washed off in the lake and here we are-" she let the last few uncertain words die in her throat.

He just let out a laugh as he unhooked the camera from her neck and then let her go, slipping the camera strap around his neck. He turned back to the wall and then tapped a few of the bricks in a very particular order, mumbling to himself as Mal stood frozen, trying to process what the hell had just happened.

If the shock of him so close hadn't been enough, the wall popping open to reveal a secret passage sure was. She stared at the dark pathway for several long seconds before the flash of the camera beside her pulled her from her shock.

"Oops!" Ben exclaimed and she wasn't sure if it was because he had left the flash on, or a joke at opening a secret passage. She turned to look at him for more answers and found herself thinking thoughts that she had made off limits for the next few weeks.

She was weak if a simple touch and closeness could sway her so easily. She knew she had to pull herself away from those possibilities and not let her friends' schemes, or Ben's cute dimples sway her decision too soon. He didn't even know the worst of it yet.

"Where does it lead?" Mal asked, forcing her interest from Ben and the camera to the dark tunnel and the ten or so feet she could see. She could never let a mystery go unsolved, or a secret place unexplored.

"Why don't you find out?" Ben answered her question with a question and a cute little smirk. Then he snapped another shot of her before she approached the passage tentatively. She could feel him following her as she entered and took a few steps forward.

The tunnel was narrow, barely enough space for her and Ben to travel it side by side, but Mal actually preferred it that way. He couldn't get any ideas that way, or do whatever that was earlier, the intense moment between them. It was narrow, but just enough space to not make Mal feel claustrophobic or like the walls were closing in. Lanterns lined the stone walls, none of them lit, but she was sure Ben had taken that into account. He seemed to know everything.

Sure enough, the quick snap of a match being lit sounded behind her and the smell of the wood burning greeted her nose. Then a light appeared from behind her, illuminating the tunnel ahead.

"The servants used tunnels like this?" Mal asked, looking down further where the light could not reach, and then back to Ben, holding the lantern high.

Ben chuckled. "Smart and pretty," he said and she could feel her cheeks heating up at his compliment. "What did I do to get so lucky?" He asked and then he froze, and she knew there was no doubt her cheeks were on fire.

The embarrassment was almost tangible. She wanted to say something about the two weeks being up rather quickly, but instead kept it to herself. Luckily, Ben spoke again before she could think of anything else to say.

"The tunnels of the school are pretty plain compared to the ones in the castle where my parents and I take our summer," he said. "All kinds of secret passages and traps if they're accessed by nefarious means."

Mal laughed. "Great use of the vocab word from two weeks ago," she said, suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable. "That sounds positively medieval." And like a ton of fun, like those tunnels were turning out to be, even if she hadn't seen anything interesting yet.

"Maybe I can show you sometime," Ben offered, and Mal tried to hide her smile as they continued down the tunnel.

After that, they fell into a comfortable silence. The very few sounds the sizzling of the lantern in Ben's hand and their footsteps in the cobwebbed, dusty tunnels.

Not too long after that, they came to a fork in the tunnels. Mal turned to Ben, expecting him to direct her, but he just shrugged.

"If I tell you which way to go, that takes all the fun out of it," he explained with a small satisfied smile, the lantern casting long strange shadows across his face, yet somehow making him more attractive in the tight space.

Mal couldn't help but laugh. "A king who won't lead?" She asked, pulling her attention away from him and back toward the fork in the tunnels. "How revolutionary!"

Ben answered rather quickly. "I never said I wouldn't lead you," he answered. "You just have to make some decisions for yourself," he added.

"Are you sure you're Beast's son?" Mal asked, deciding to take the tunnel leading to the left. There was something about being a VK that made her not want to go right. "He was very against decisions for several people." She had tried not to be bitter about his father and the regulations he had put forth on the isle and even in Auradon itself.

"Very sure," Ben answered as he followed her. "Though he and I don't often agree on policies for the kingdom." Mal turned back to stare at him. Did he realize how open he was being with a VK?

"So how are you going to rule as King?" Mal asked, not about to let an opportunity alone with Ben go to waste. It had been pretty good so far, much less awkward than she had expected.

"I want to give everyone in Auradon a voice," Ben explained. "My father made his assumptions about people, and I want to see people for who they really are." It didn't take a genius for Mal to realize exactly who he was talking about, which peoples his father had made assumptions about. "I want to-" he stopped and shoved her against the stone wall, away from the large vent in the stone wall.

Mal was about to resist, not about to let him get the best of her again and make her feel strange. Then she heard voices.

"Right now, she's harmless," Fairy Godmother's voice came from the vent that offered a splintering of light and enough of a view, if they could get close enough, to the room behind it. "Her magic is barely a blip on the magic scale."

Mal had a feeling she was talking about her. She turned her head slightly to see Ben's eyes on her, soft in the semi darkness, but with a quality she couldn't quite name. She was more concerned about Fairy Godmother though.

"You saw what she did at the coronation," Belle's voice came next, heavy with fear. Mal felt Ben shift against her. He seemed just as interested. "You're sure it's nothing to worry about?" She asked.

"Well-" Fairy Godmother started.

The former king cut her off. "Magic is always something to worry about," he said darkly. "Her mother is the queen of evil and the evilest of all the faeries!" They were definitely talking about her. "Judging by the coronation, she's just as dangerous as her mother, if not more so."

Mal snuck a look to Ben, listening intently, his body still against hers, holding her to the wall, the camera creating very little space between them. Did everyone think that way?

Fairy Godmother remained calm. "Maleficent only became what she is now because her prince scorned her, by order of the only parental figure he had," she said, "Would you force Ben to do the same?" She asked.

Mal had no idea. She had wondered who her father was, she had assumed some poor sap on the isle, but possibly a prince or a king? She couldn't help but sneak a look to Ben. Did he know too?

She found him looking back at her, his blue grey eyes matching hers in curiosity. His eyes also giving way to his shame, his cheeks slightly pink. He had essentially pushed her away already.

Belle sighed audibly. "We all know what is at stake," she said, and Mal imagined her looking to whoever else was in the room. "We'll let Ben decide."

Let Ben decide what?

Beast seemed to growl from where he was. "Bordel de merde!" He shouted in a language that Mal knew wasn't a language she recognized. She turned back toward the vent, he was obviously angry.

"It's not something I should repeat," Ben whispered barely loud enough for her to hear before she even asked.

"I won't sit around and wait for her to do something terrible to him!" His father continued. "I will banish her myself if I must!"

"Calm down!" Belle shouted at her husband. "It's a bit too soon to be talking about banishing anyone. She saved the kingdom and that is good enough for now." Mal kept listening. "As a villain's child she can't know love anyway. We'll just have to convince him to turn back to Audrey."

Mal dared not look to Ben just yet. She hoped that they would say more, and yet she wasn't sure how much more she wanted to hear.

"He is king now, Belle!" Her husband argued back. "Do you not see the danger of her being so close to him?" He asked and Mal did her best not to smile at the irony of the situation. "A slip of poison into his wine, a knife across his throat. We have no idea what she's already done to him with that magic of hers. The quicker we force her out, the better!"

"Mal is unfinished," Fairy Godmother interrupted loudly. Mal trained her ear to the grate, very few people were so enthusiastic to stand up for her. "Her mother had an huge influence on her up until now, but she is still malleable." That seemed to quiet down everyone in the room. "If surrounded by love and generosity, she can still learn and become queen material." Beast scoffed loudly at that. Mal felt herself stiffen against the wall. She knew Ben's eyes were on her. "If surrounded by animosity and doubt, she will become more terrifying than her mother. If you force her to make those choices, if you force Ben to make choices against her, it will be your ruination. Just as it was _his_."

Whose? Mal wished Fairy Godmother would reveal more.

Beast scoffed yet again, not truly listening, but Mal was sure that was a pretty common occurrence. "And when do we draw the line?" He asked. "When she uses all manner of magic and spells on him? When she takes the crown from his cold dead head?" Mal could feel the heavy silence all around them. She refused to look at Ben. "Or how about when he comes and asks for our blessing because she seduced a child out of him as her mother did?" Ben shifted uncomfortably against her, the conversation just as awkward for him. "When the kingdom is in ruins because she can't love?" She kept her eyes trained on the vent. "You know what will happen if she ever finds out the truth, don't you?" He was only getting angrier, the sounds of small destruction all around them, a shattering tea cup, the hurried clink of a metal spoon against the floor.

What truth?

"It isn't up to you to draw the line, I'm afraid," Fairy Godmother explained calmly. "The two of you have raised Ben to be a wonderful young man and it is his decision to make. What you decide to do with that decision, is yours to decide."

"Are we just going to pretend that she is strong enough?" Beast continued, "That she can-" Their voices drifted away as Ben pulled her further down the tunnel and away from the large vent.

He had heard enough.


	11. Chapter 11

Ben had never been so relieved to see the secret door to the restricted section of the library. The conversation that he and Mal had walked into had been a little too jarring. A little too close to what he had asked after the coronation and he felt quite ashamed at his actions. There was too much at stake and Mal didn't need to know until they came to an agreement at the end of their agreed time. He had pulled her away just in time it seemed.

They hadn't said a word since he had pulled her away, and it was strange. He knew he would have to break the silence first.

"How long did you say for the betting pool against us?" He asked the first question that came to his mind. It would be a lie to say he hadn't been thinking about it since he had found out about it. Though it might not have been the right time to ask about it.

Mal stayed quiet for several seconds after that as they closed the distance to the end of the tunnel. "No one has asked me yet," she admitted.

Mal did not look back at Ben just yet and he wasn't sure if he preferred that or not. He pushed the door open to reveal the dim lanterns around the ancient restricted section.

She looked around at the dusty stacks and then back to him a small smile on her lips as she seemed to rush him, pushing him back into the door they had just exited, her body close to his. He swallowed the lump in his throat and wondered where she would go next.

"Ask me in a few days," she whispered seductively as he felt the weight of the camera leave his neck and heard the familiar click of the camera between them. Then she turned and slipped away toward one of the closer stacks. "So why are these all restricted?" She asked, looking toward the thick tomes on the closest shelf.

He caught his breath and took a few steps forward. "These," he said, pointing to the closest shelf, shaking the ideas he had previously had with her from his head. As much as he wanted to shove her against the shelf and stick his tongue down her throat, he resisted. "Are here because they have negative viewpoints of the kingdom or glorify the villains over the heroes." He cleared his throat and turned away from her slightly wicked and oh so tempting smile. "These," he said, turning to the next shelf, "Are the books with magic, everything from spellbooks to magical diaries and everything in between. My dad had-" he rephrased after what they had just heard, "has a huge vendetta against magic and magic users." Had the restricted section always been that stuffy?

"And you?" Mal asked with a coy smile, the camera gently resting between her hands. "I imagine being love spelled and then unspelled has to have left a bad taste in your mouth. I took your first time." She giggled and Ben turned back to face her at the unusual sound.

"What?" He asked, with a slight laugh, his mind in a million other places.

She snapped a photo. "That had to have been the first time you were spelled," she said, with the cute little smile that crinkled her nose.

"Sorry," he answered, but wasn't sure how much he should explain. "I still have plenty of firsts left, but your spell was not my first." She looked back to him with surprise, her eyebrows raised, waiting for him to continue.

"And who may I ask took your first spell?" Mal asked, closing the distance between them again. "It was one of those goody goody fairies wasn't it?" She asked, almost a little too interested for his liking. "Blessings at your christening?" She guessed. She laughed. "Let me guess. The gift of charisma fit for a future king, confidence to believe in your ideas, and a big-" her eyes roamed his body and then met his eye again her smile wicked, "-personality," she said, her smile only growing wider, "To not get lost within the masses."

Even he had to laugh at that. "Something like that," he answered, suddenly feeling less nervous around her. "And even though you spelled me to get closer to the wand, it didn't make me hate magic like my father." He caught her green eyes. "And it really means a lot to me that you chose good and stayed in Auradon." He added, thinking about the conversation they had just walked in on.

Mal let out a short laugh. "I didn't do it just for you," she explained and he didn't miss the color that came to her cheeks. "After the luxuries it would be nearly impossible to go back to the isle." He knew that was an excuse. "And the others weren't about to go back without me. I had to set an example for the others."

Ben snorted. "Right," he answered, "because they were so ready to go back to the isle at your first command."

She laughed too, snapping another shot of him. "So now I'm curious," she said, "Why show me this?" She asked, looking around at the shelves again.

Ben smiled. "It beats taking you back to your room," he said, "And it distracts you from thinking about your roommate and her-" he paused, not quite sure what they were, "-Doug."

She laughed. "Thanks for that," she said, "Though I'm sure they're having a ball with my mother."

Ben laughed too. "I'm sure your mother isn't the one having the ball from what I saw." He would have done anything to see that blush on Mal's face again.

"Benjamin Florian!" Mal exclaimed loudly, both a blush and a disgusted look coming over her face. "That is-" she started to shout but Ben clapped his hand over her mouth.

They weren't supposed to be there and even though he was king, he didn't want to get her into anymore trouble. "We should probably run now," he whispered to her quite close before the familiar scrape in the keyhole sounded from the large double doors not too far from them.

Before she could respond, he pulled her along with him back toward the tunnel. He just hoped his parents and Fairy Godmother hadn't gotten into any more embarrassing topics.

They barely missed the librarian as she stomped into the dimmed room and Ben couldn't help but hold back a laugh as he chased Mal down the secret tunnels.

He would chase her anywhere.

* * *

She found herself laughing as they escaped from the tunnel right outside the kitchens. She had missed a good dose of mischief since she had chosen good along with the other VKs. She had to admit she could see why they had enjoyed their schemes of trying to get her and Ben back together.

Ben. Standing next to her, catching his breath, the fake crown still on his head. The king of the entire country and the leader of everything, giving her a smile that made her want to melt into his arms and never leave them. The next nine and a half days were going to suck, unless…

She shook that thought from her head. She was not going to be the one to break first. He was the one that had decided it, so he would have to be the one to admit it first. Still, as he gave her that smile, his chest rising and falling quickly, his eyes on her, he was making it pretty difficult.

She tried to focus on their original task, the photos for his campaign, and she took a shaky shot, trying to capture that smile, but she was panting a little herself. She took another still and caught the smile, she hoped.

In case things ended up not working out, she decided. He still had no idea what he had promised while under her love spell. And if he knew he might not wish to continue whatever they were.

"So you won't go to Pizza in Arcadia City with me," Ben began, back on the topic of food. "But what about ordering in?" He asked and she watched him carefully. "The MuShu delivers and we could start editing these photos."

She knew she could try and resist, but she wasn't sure she wanted a repeat of what had happened at her room earlier. "Fine," she answered, trying not to seem too excited at the prospect of more time with Ben. "But I'm not the most social when I work on my art," she explained.

"I think I can handle it," Ben answered. "Even artists have to eat." He gave her that same smile again and she found that she couldn't resist.


	12. Chapter 12

Thirty minutes later, they sat in his office at his desk. The nearly 500 photos all on the screen. Mal scrolled and deleted any of the ones that weren't perfect. She could feel Ben's eyes more on her than the photos, but she wasn't about to ask him to stop. Things were quiet between them, but it was better than any awkward conversations he could come up with.

"Hey Mal?" Ben asked quietly as she deleted a bright photo due to the flash in the darkness. She turned to him slightly, he was using the same tone he had used at the hidden lake. Too gentle, too scared. His words about to carry a heavy weight she feared. "I was thinking about our-"

A loud knock came at the door, just through the archway that separated his office from the small entryway where he could hang his coat or a wet umbrella. "Your majesty," one of his several servants called out. "Your requested meal has arrived."

So much for any conversation.

As soon as Ben disappeared into the entryway, Mal stood from the desk and took the laptop with her to the wood floor. There, she continued to edit for the few minutes that Ben was occupied with whichever of his several servants had brought their meal. She couldn't help but wonder what he had been trying to say before he was interrupted.

She looked at a few of the ones she had snapped without him knowing as she waited. The one by the fountain, before she knew he was her subject, the few she had taken in the restricted section, the ones she had snuck on the way back to his office.

They were all beautiful and impossible to get rid of, even though they were definitely not campaign worthy. Still, it was easier looking at the pictures than Ben himself. There was just too much that could go wrong with Ben himself. More of a chance he could do or say something stupid. Promise something else that could ruin all of their lives.

His pictures were physically silent, but they said a lot through his eyes and his smile, or even his simple body language in the candids. He was more expressive, more open than she had previously realized. It was making it nearly impossible for her to stay impartial for the several days left in their agreement.

The conversation between his parents and Fairy Godmother wasn't helping either. She could be more dangerous than her mother? Her mother had been scorned by a prince and a king? It had been eye opening to say the least, and Ben right up against her the entire time had changed things for sure.

It made her head all loopy and her quite confused. She wished she could talk to Evie about it, but she was currently busy, or so Mal guessed. She no longer had relationship issues so she would no longer understand. Mal was on her own for that one.

Ben's chuckle pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see him holding the tray stocked with the food he had ordered for them, his face transformed into the cutest chuckle face she had ever seen. "What are you doing on the floor?" He asked, setting the tray down on one of the free tables and leaning down to help her up.

She refused with a quick shake of her head. "It's a VK thing." She admitted, feeling a small blush come to her cheeks.

"You prefer to be low to the ground?" Ben asked. "Less chance of someone hurting you?" He wondered.

Mal shook her head. "Your desk is too comfortable," she admitted. "I would fall asleep before I could get anything done."

What Ben did next, she didn't expect. He pulled the tray of food from the table and set it down next to her, then he sat down himself. "You could have said something earlier," he said. "I would have found you the most uncomfortable chair."

Even she laughed at that. "You could try," she answered, "but I think every chair here in Auradon would be too comfortable." She admitted.

"Hear ye, hear ye," Ben announced to no one else in the large, mostly dark office. "The King sends forth a proclamation to find the most uncomfortable chair for his girlfriend. Anyone with a worthy chair should present it accordingly."

Mal laughed again, the blush coming across her cheeks again at his words. She wasn't sure if he had realized what he had said. "The floor is good enough for the daughter of Maleficent." She looked right at him. "And your girlfriend?" She asked, feeling a little evil. "What did Audrey do to you to earn an uncomfortable chair?"

The blush that crossed his cheeks, the crown lopsided on his head, his hair wild, made her want to capture the photo, capture his lips, pull him closer to her and never let him go. The photo would have to do.

"More photos?" Ben asked softly, the tiredness leaking into his voice though curfew wasn't for a few more hours.

"Just one last one," Mal answered quietly, taking in his absolute beauty as he leaned against the desk with her. "We already have enough to edit." She forced herself to turn back to the computer screen and away from him, just in case she got the idea to do something completely stupid.

"But first, food." Ben's hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her attention away from the screen and the thousands of faces of him and the few glimmers of purple in between. "You've never had food from the MuShu, have you?" He asked.

She shook her head with a smile. "Just the leftovers from the isle, and even this junk didn't last forever," she explained with a small chuckle.

She looked down as he handed her the wooden sticks. She had never seen them before, or like that. There had been several of them in the junk heaps, stained with the dark brown of the salty sauce, broken and snapped from use and trash processing, but she had never seen them New. She couldn't help but stare, almost afraid to grab them.

"What are those?" She asked, her voice quiet, almost scared. When she had first seen them on the isle she considered them torture devices, wondering if the darkened stains had actually been blood.

A smile that she considered almost wicked crossed his face. "You've never used chopsticks before?" He asked, then his eyes became alight with a kind of excitement that Mal wished could stay there forever. He was so childlike in his excitement and it was absolutely beautiful.

Then, as with everything else he had caught her up on, he told her all about chopsticks and how to use them. Showing her with a kind of ease that shouldn't have been legal.

Using them herself however, was the most awkward experience ever. She could grip whatever it was loosely but then it quickly would fall back onto the tray, or her lap and he would just laugh and she tried not to get too angry. She knew how bad magic would look, Especially after that conversation they had overheard with Fairy Godmother and his parents, but she did want to impress him.

She liked when he laughed. When the laugh was so powerful that it made him smile so big that it traced all the way to his eyes. The kind of laugh that made his belly shake and tears threaten to stream from his eyes.

She wished she could take a picture, but the camera was too far away and her fingers and hands were covered in the sweet brown sauce, so she would have to keep that image of him in her mind, Especially If things didn't work out between them.

For the moment, she wanted to keep him laughing. "These things must be torture devices," she spoke, after she had dropped the sticky piece of chicken for what must have been the tenth time at least. "Who would willingly use these to eat?" She asked.

He continued to laugh and she was relieved she could still do that. The conversation they had overheard had made her fear for their relationship, whatever it was at that point. What were Ben's thoughts on the whole thing?

"Come here," He said, once he stopped laughing. "Give me your hand," He continued And She offered it slowly and carefully.

His hands were always warm, and that took her off guard, that and how soft they were. They had never known a single day of hard work it seemed and they were pleasantly warm, he was always pleasantly warm it seemed and she had to admit that she missed being so close to him over the last few days.

She wasn't even paying attention to his words as he taught her about the chopsticks, but the way his lips moved, and the way his fingers brushed against hers and his patience and kindness. Everything good about him.

And everything terrible about her.

Maybe he was right, maybe Audrey and Jane were right, maybe Fairy Godmother and Beast and Belle were right.

Plainly, she didn't deserve Ben, and everyone seemed to know it but her.

She knew she should leave, let that be the end of things, like everyone else wanted, but she was selfish. She wanted more time with him.

Luckily, mastering the chopsticks wasn't completely difficult, and after a few of his instructions she could master it well enough to at least get some food to her mouth. Ben seemed quite satisfied with himself.

"How are the fairy tales coming along? Have you read The Witch's Knot yet?" Ben asked a few minutes later, and she dropped the few noodles between her chopsticks out of surprise. They were pretty much done with dinner anyway.

"Not yet," She answered. "I've been a little preoccupied with classes and my mother doesn't know how to shut up at night so-" she stopped. Why was she telling him so much all of a sudden? It wasn't like they were together anymore or actually she had no idea what was going on, but she wasn't going to be the one to open up first.

As Belle had said: She wasn't capable of Love.

He just smiled and stood up slowly. She kept her eyes on him as he strolled over to one of the large bookshelves, crammed full with books in pristine condition. It only took him a few minutes to find what he was looking for and then he pulled one of the large pillows from the chairs and sat back down next to her.

She couldn't help but let out a short laugh as he sat on the large cushion looking satisfied and comfortable. She would never be comfortable on such a big cushion like that.

They were from completely different worlds.

She decided to focus on the big, well loved book between his hands as he sat facing her. She looked back up to him for an explanation. It looked like one of the books that should have been tossed to the isle long ago. It seemed almost completely out of place with all of the pristine perfect books and technology around them.

"It's one of my favorites," Ben explained. "It was my mother's before she met my father and her father read it to her, and she read it to me," he continued and Mal could see the blush as it crossed his cheeks. "I flip through it when I'm stressed sometimes," he admitted.

She could see the title and the picture of a happy child on the front, nearly worn clean off through the fabric cover. It was a book of fairytales, or so she guessed, unable to read whichever foreign language it was.

"The Witch's Knot is in there?" She asked, wondering why the heck else he would ask about it and then pull down a different book. He nodded in approval and she knew that she had to get back to editing his photos, but she wanted to keep him there, keep him looking at her like that. "Will you read it to me?" She asked, feeling kind of stupid. No one had ever read her anything.

What was she? A child? Of course he wouldn't-

"I was hoping you would ask," Ben answered quietly. "It's one my father tore out of all of the other fairytale books, because of his feelings toward magic and how he views the ending and the characters, but luckily I have my copy and a few others exist."

Mal smiled. Of course, King- Past King Beast wouldn't want any positive views of magic anywhere. Especially not in children's fairy tales full of wonderment and imagination.

She pulled her attention away from Ben and back toward the laptop, still displaying the hundreds and hundreds of pictures they had taken. "Do you mind?" She asked, pulling it back up to her lap.

"Go ahead," He answered.

She set out to work and he began to read.

 _Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, where magic is everywhere and abundant, there lived a young witch in training._

It was a good start as she scrolled through the hundreds of pictures and picked out the best hundred or so to edit and have him choose from.

 _She was training to be a good witch, helping the citizens of the small town she grew up in. She spent her days in the forest outside of the town learning the helpful herbs and spices that would heal the ailments of the townspeople, and her nights reading through all of the spells and charms for the people._

Of course, she would be a good witch and not evil at all. Evil wasn't allowed in Auradon, well until Ben had made his proclamation.

 _One day, when she was searching the forest, the crown prince and his men rode through to the small town and nearly ran her over. She was ready to use the forbidden magics, but as soon as she saw him, she was struck by his beauty._

It sounded like the meet cute from hell. And yet the same thing has happened between her and Ben, in a way.

 _Not only was he beautiful to look at, but he was generous and kind and perfect. The witch in training could feel her heart change, flutter and become untamed and chase him wherever he went._

That sounded eerily similar to their situation, and she made a mental note to ask him about it later, when she wasn't so distracted by his photos.

 _He visited the small town often, learning about it to better understand when he became king. The witch in training found herself distracted whenever he came around. She knew she couldn't be distracted, and that the crown prince and future king would never return her feelings, so instead of telling him about them, she decided to knot them up in string._

A simple binding spell from the sounds of it.

 _For years and years he would come by her little shop, asking for charms, pendants and potions to make him a better future king, and every time she would give them to him, feel her emotions bubble up and add another knot after he left._

Maybe that's what she should do, If things were to go sour, and Mal knew they would.

 _Eventually, when the witch finished her training and became a full fledged witch, the knots had formed into a decent sized mass of knots, but the prince still came around and she added to it every single time, tying her feelings away, hiding them the only place she knew they would be safe._

 _Then, the unthinkable happened. The crown prince returned to her little shop one day after not being there for quite a while, so long that she thought he would never come again, and asked her for one last spell._

" _I am now the king of this fine land and I desire one last spell," he said. "I wish to woo a fair maiden and ask for her hand."_

 _The witch knew it was the last time she would see the crown prince, then king, so she knotted the mass of knots one last time and presented it to him. She knew he could never return her feelings, but there was so much love hidden in it that she knew no woman would be able to resist him._

" _Present this to the maiden and assure her that it will keep her bed warm even in the coldest of winters," the witch explained. "In less than a fortnight, she will be wooed."_

 _Then she watched him go one last time. Knowing he would never return. Knowing that what she felt for him would never be._

"What a happy ending for a witch," Mal spoke out loud as she filtered through a few of him in the same pose on the laptop screen. "I can't see why your father wanted to get rid of it. Torturing magical beings, That's right up his alley!"

Ben just laughed next to her. "It's not over yet," he answered, "but if you want me to stop-" he trailed off Before she could even cut him off.

"Go on," she answered.

 _Years passed and the witch learned to forget about the king and the feelings she had had for him. As long as they had stayed knotted up in the blanket she had given him to woo the other maiden, she didn't feel them. She focused solely on her craft and helping those in the small town. She kept to herself, only going out to help others and never taking anything for herself._

 _She had almost completely forgotten about the king when he appeared in her shop one afternoon, carrying the mass of knots that was the blanket._

 _The moment she saw him all of the feelings began rushing back, burning her like a fire that she had tried to put out unsuccessfully._

" _Your spell didn't work, Witch," He said, though he wasn't mad at all. "Every woman I have tried to woo has only told me that I already feel for someone else."_

 _The witch tried to keep her feelings back, control them, but after years they were just too strong and she began to feel them. "What can I do for you, your majesty?" She asked._

 _After a long silence, the king spoke. "I couldn't figure out who they claimed I had feelings for, but when the blanket snagged on a tree branch and began to unravel, I couldn't stop thinking about you."_

" _Let me fix it for you," The witch answered, hoping she could seal her feelings back up and make him happy again. Whatever she could do to stop the burn of feeling._

" _I don't want anymore spells from you." His words almost hurt. "For years I have been coming to you for things I thought I needed but I have never left here satisfied."_

 _The witch was scared he would sentence her to the ultimate fate, but he just kept smiling._

" _I just want you," He said, taking her hands._

" _As the King commands, so it shall be…"_


	13. Chapter 13

When Ben opened his eyes, he was not where he expected to be. It wasn't his dorm room, not even close. He had fallen asleep in his office before, but it hadn't been quite as warm, or nearly as purple all around him. He couldn't help but smile.

He wanted to kiss her. He had wanted to kiss her since their first date, but she had turned away every time. Since they had chosen distance, he knew he shouldn't. He couldn't put into words how much he wanted to throw their stupid agreement to the side, tell her how wrong he had been and kiss her like she had never been kissed before.

She looked almost peaceful as she slept against his lap, her violet hair spread out against his pants nearly covering her face, actually quite gentle when she wasn't scowling or pretending she didn't care about him. Her hands gently curled into fists, slightly wrapped around his pants, nearly covering her face. She was gentle in sleep, and he wanted to keep her sleeping. He didn't imagine she slept much on the isle, and he cared about her and her well being, perhaps more than she would ever care for him.

He could see that she did care, she had let it slip through several times the night before, Especially when she didn't realize it, but she continued to keep him at arm's length.

Her fear getting the better of her it seemed.

As much as he wanted to break their deal early, ask her out, kiss her, love her if she would let him, he wanted to make sure she had a choice in everything too. She needed a choice in everything, Especially with all that was at stake.

He at least wanted to stay her friend, all of their friends, but he would always feel those strong intense feelings for her.

Sooner rather than later someone would be looking for him, whether the royal councils or fellow students, or faculty and he would rather not wake her up. With as much grace as he could muster, he managed to free himself from her and place her head against the cushion without waking her up. She barely even moved at all and he considered that a success.

He knew he should just leave the office and not press his luck trying anything else, but she got the best of him, as she always had. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently.

"I wish you would open up to me more," he mumbled before he could even think to stop himself and she stirred just slightly, starting to mumble a response.

"As the king commands-" she started, rolling against the pillow.

Like an idiot, he ran.

* * *

Her first thought was that she was too comfortable, too warm. And when she opened her eyes she realized why.

She was on the floor of Ben's office, staring up at the expanses of books, snuggled up in a plushy blanket and snuggled up against a plushy pillow. She wasn't even sure how she had fallen asleep that way in the first place.

Well at least Ben wasn't still there.

He was probably at a meeting somewhere or maybe he was even early to class.

Class!

She wasn't too worried about actually making it to class on time, she was more concerned with the fact that if she didn't hurry up, she would have to do the supposed walk of shame. Fairy Godmother, Ben's parents, and all the faculty would probably flip out and give her more detention.

But the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea of it. As far as everyone knew they were still together and maybe it would even give her fellow VKs an excuse to back off with their schemes.

There were still several days before the spring dance and she knew they could have loads of schemes planned. What better way to throw them off?

So instead of fixing her hair and making sure her clothes didn't look slept in, she messed up her curls even more, pulling the tight ones from their pins, and even unbuttoned more of the buttons under her blazer from family day, just enough to make things interesting and spread a few rumors.

What the VKs didn't know wouldn't hurt them, right?

Then, as she was about to leave, she saw the perfect addition, the fake crown sitting on the desk, the one that looked just real enough. The one that everyone else thought was real.

How delightfully evil.

She knew Belle and her Beast wouldn't be too happy about it, Nor the faculty and fellow students (Audrey included) but she did it anyway, placing it just lopsided enough to look almost risqué.

Then she began her walk, Not of shame, but of influence, her head held high, her heels clacking against the floors with powerful echoes, past the students still milling around the dorm room hallways, and then the students hanging around their lockers, all the way through the quad and toward her first class of the day, where all the students heads turned as she walked in a whole fifteen minutes late to Medieval history.

She felt as though she had just stormed the castle and completely ruined their plans.

The whispers spread like wildfire.

Before the first block of classes was even done, she was called to Fairy Godmother's office. She continued her walk of influence all the way there, perfectly timed as all of the other students were being let out of their classes. She had never felt so powerful as all eyes were on her.

She swore she could hear Audrey's distinct groan of frustration sprinkled through the other collective gasps and cheers as she passed one of the home ec princess classrooms. She tried not to look too excited about it.

Fairy Godmother was not pleased. She didn't even have to say anything, Mal knew as soon as she walked into the office. At first it seemed like she was too frustrated for words, but then she spoke slowly and deliberately.

"This kind of behavior is frowned upon," Fairy Godmother started, but Mal knew she wasn't sure what else she should say.

"What?" Mal asked smoothly, "The confidence of a young woman, claiming comfort in her own body?" She asked. She knew exactly how Auradon viewed coupling. In the movies she and her fellow VKs had watched and the media in the magazines, just the names of the quizzes and how censored everything was, She knew.

" _First Kisses Lead to Other Firsts_ "

" _King Beast Says: Loose Lips Lead to Naughty Slips_."

And the ever popular Sex Ed video:

" _Princess Peach Kissed One Too Many Frogs and Will Never Find a Prince._ "

No one really took them seriously, but they weren't openly broadcasting their actions as she had.

Fairy Godmother stumbled over her words. "The implications of a mere button out of place, the crown on your head, the the the-" Mal had never seen her so flustered and she couldn't help but feel the surge of pride and influence surge again.

"The rumors that will spread about the king!" The familiar voice of Ben came from behind her, only he didn't sound so pleased with her.

"Your majesty!" Fairy Godmother exclaimed, almost as if she was relieved. "I'm sorry to pull you from your important meetings. I'll let you take it from here."

"Thank you, Fairy Godmother," Ben answered, looking more stern than she had ever seen him look, more frustrated than ever.

It was a relief to see him so far from perfect, as he usually was.

Then came the awkward silence between the three of them as Fairy Godmother moved past them to return to her morning classes.

It was only after she shut the door behind her that Ben even opened his mouth to speak. Only what came out of his mouth wasn't even close to English. "Bordel du Merde!" The same curse that his father had used the night before, the one that he hadn't repeated to her, but she knew that had to be bad. She stared at him as more foreign words fell from his lips, sounding angry, but the strange smile on his lips said otherwise.

Then he finally switched to English. "Do you know what this will do to my reputation?" He asked in a shout and she found that despite his supposed anger, it was making her all tingly in the worst ways.

Like he had at the lake during their first date.

"I am trying to build a kingdom of respect and solidarity and you're walking around broadcasting to everyone how cavalier I am?" He asked, though his anger didn't seem completely genuine. "You go around wearing basically nothing showing off what should be kept to yourself?" He seemed almost unsure and she shook her head and pointed to him, hoping he would understand. "What should be mine only!" He continued more convincingly, His voice nearly a growl like his father's and she fought against the shiver that threatened to send her to her knees.

She knew there were probably several people listening outside the door. She could practically hear the rumors starting to fly She was relieved he hadn't thought to reach out and grab her like she would have expected in that situation. She knew she had to come up with a response. But what?

"Don't act like you didn't like it!" She shot back at him, giving the listeners what they wanted. She needed rumors to get around to the VKs and anyone scheming against them. "How many rumors do you think spread around about you this morning?" She asked, standing her ground. "King Ben had the nerve, the strength, the big-" Her eyes roamed him as they had the night before, "-personality to tame the dragon's daughter!" His smile seemed out of place. "You should be thanking me!" She shouted at him.

"You should be thanking me!" He shouted back at her. "I brought you over from the isle and showed you kindness as your king! I made you go-" She knew he was going to say "good" and that wasn't what everyone needed to hear. They knew that basically.

They needed to hear the dirty stuff.

"You made me beg and beg on my-" She tried to hide the cringe as she looked over his shoulder and not right at him"-knees for what felt like forever." Small details were important, right?

She could hear the students twittering outside the office door, the rumors already starting to fly.

"You should be proud of me for walking around as your conquest!" Mal shouted at him, taking a few steps closer. They needed the students to leave so they could talk it seemed, or so she wanted. "If you weren't such a prude still you would be a man and take me again right here in Fairy Godmother's office!" She told him with a wink.

He stared at her like she was insane with a kind of confusion and interest she guessed. She gave him a look that practically ordered him to get closer. She ended up having to pull him to her, slamming them both into the desk and sending several of the items on the desk crashing to the floor.

It was effective enough.

His lips were a little too close for comfort and she turned her cheek toward him, slamming her hips into the desk again causing the photo frames to shake and wobble loudly. "If Evie and the others think we're together and doing things they won't interfere as much," she whispered, unable to meet his eyes. She crashed herself into the desk again, creating a kind of rhythm. "It will give you time to clear your head."

He let out a short quiet chuckle. "I'm not sure it's me who needs to clear my head," he answered quietly into her hair. "Beg for it!" He called out loudly, that beastly quality to his voice back and with him that much closer she had to fight it even more. "What did you say for the bet going around?" He asked quietly.

"Nope," She answered just barely above a whisper, shaking her head. "Please!" She called out.

He chuckled against her, wrapping a loose curl of her hair around his fingers and tugging just slightly and she fought to outwardly show anything. "Say my name!" He growled out and she hated him for making her feel that way.

"Please King Ben!" She cried out, slamming her hips into the desk again. Then she repeated it and slammed into the desk harder.

From there, she continued with a kind of rhythm that she had seen in the short introduction she and Ben had seen from Evie And Doug the night before. "You're welcome for boosting your reputation further," she told him quietly. "Welcome to your kingdom!" She continued with a smile.

He chuckled. "I could kiss you," He answered, "But something tells me you don't want me to do that." She stared at him. Curse him for being so observant. Thank goodness she could blame it on something else.

"Ask me in a week," she answered back. Could the spring dance really be in just over a week? She would have to come up with a solution before then. Ben would have to decide that he wanted to be with her first though. She wasn't going to put herself out there just to get hurt. "Oh Ben!" She shouted out loudly, there were still people outside Fairy Godmother's office.

"Detention and making me the school slut?" He continued with a short chuckle. "You might just be a bad influence, Mal Bertha."

She let out a chuckle. "Just might?" She asked. "I'm the worst influence," she continued. "But as far as this actually goes," she indicated to the closeness of their bodies, against the desk, still fully clothed. "It's going to be a while."

He chuckled too. "Everyone already thinks we're doing things," he said. "But we can talk more about that in a week."

How she wished for sooner as Fairy Godmother rushed into her office and they forced themselves apart.

Four more hours of detention between the two of them wasn't so terrible though. At least they would be forced far far apart in detention.

* * *

Evie felt like she was on cloud nine. She and Doug had finally made up, made much more than just up, down sideways, upside down, on the floor, on Mal's bed, in the bathroom, on the counters. Basically everywhere, and she couldn't stop thinking about doing it again.

She and Doug had skipped eating and meeting the others for lunch to go have a steamy make out session in her room, since with Ben and Mal fighting but not really fighting and together but not really together, things had become strange at lunch and breaks, so whenever they had time together, they ended up in her room.

It was better than being stuck with Mal as she navigated her feelings for Ben but insisted that things weren't as complicated, that she didn't feel for him as intensely as he did for her, blah blah blah bullshit, or Ben as he navigated the same feelings with Doug.

The familiar sound of a text from Jay pulled her out of the revelries of Doug's lips against her neck, his hands massaging her shoulders with a strangely intense calmness.

She reached for it on the bedside table and found a text from Jay that made her nearly bolt up out of surprise, until she realized that it would never be true.

 _Mal and Ben were given detention for making out!_

She practically shrieked when she first saw it. Their schemes had worked and Ben and Mal had finally gotten back together!

Then she thought about it for several seconds, which was no small feat the way that Doug was such an expert with his lips and she knew they had been plotting some schemes of their own or seemed.

 _I don't buy it. Meet me and Doug at the Tourney field after practice._

It was time to pull out the big guns and make sure they really got together. Evie wouldn't let this disaster go any longer than it needed to.


	14. Chapter 14

Friday afternoon, Ben was starting to get worried. He hadn't seen Mal all day and the deadline to take the photos to the PR team was fast approaching. He really hoped they wouldn't have to go with the ones that made him look completely stoic and ridiculous (and not in the good way).

She said she would have the photos finished by Friday afternoon, but he hadn't seen her, or any traces of the photos from anyone, and though he made sure he seemed calm and collected on the outside, inside he was freaking out.

He had to put in the combination to his locker three times before the lock actually let him in, his hands were shaking so bad before the last few classes of the afternoon. He was sure he would be a nervous wreck in his last two classes, but maybe he could ask her about it in detention, if he even made it there. The council and his parents were concerned about an uprising in one of the close provinces, a few rabble rousers over in Atlantia Bay that might need to be taken care of and appeased with yet another fruit basket and a speech.

Yet another deadline approaching it seemed.

Still, he was pleasantly surprised to find his gym clothes folded nicely on top of his school books against the back of his locker and a rather heavy envelope tucked underneath, a neon green post it attached.

 _As the King commands, so it shall be._

He would recognize her jagged signature anywhere, the letters as pointed as her graffiti had been, the entirety of her name looking like a dragon. He loved to see it whenever he could.

He picked up the heavy folder and flipped through the photos. Each and every one of them was completely beautiful and exactly what he had wanted from the royal photographer the first time.

He knew he had to go talk to her and thank her as much as she would allow.

Maybe he could even get her to give him all of the unedited ones, the ones with her in them too.

Maybe he just wanted to have an excuse to talk to her.

Then he noticed the other thick envelope underneath it.

* * *

Mal couldn't believe how calm things had become once her fellow VKs had stopped plotting meetings between her and Ben. She counted a record three nearly four days where she and Ben weren't forced together awkwardly in one of the elevators, or forced into detention unnecessarily. No locker rooms, no broken elevators, or freezers, or any other cliche meetings. Just the few waves from their lockers between classes when he was there and not at some council or overseeing the citizens of Auradon, or whatever he did.

It was almost… nice.

She could think about them and their relationship, though she preferred to think about other things, like the whole conundrum that involved him, and them, and her mother. Still, she found herself thinking about The Witch's Knot rather than researching what she should be.

"Has loverboy kissed you yet?" Her mother asked her almost daily. It was like she knew and was waiting for something. Like she wanted something.

"No," Mal answered, sometimes but not always. It was quite easy to ignore her small salamander voice compared to her booming evil fairy voice on the isle.

She would usually leave it at that, not wanting to go into any more detail. The less her mother knew, the better, but she did probably hear a lot from Evie, whether the fashionista realized it or not.

She had been trying to figure out how to go about her relationship and how to just talk to Ben about it without having him assume anything. Without breaking the terms of their agreement after their break that wasn't a break.

Maybe she should just go to him and tell him everything. And she meant everything. Then she thought that would be stupid.

Should she-

A loud knock came at the dorm room door. She knew who it had to be, no one else knocked, just entered as if it was their own room, even Lonnie and Jane the few times they had come by to study with Evie And Doug, when they were actually studying.

Mal debated not answering, pretending she wasn't there, but her mother quashed that plan. "Ooooohhhh!" She exclaimed quite loudly for the size of her lizard lungs. "Prince Charming arrives!" Mal fought the urge to tip her cage and shut her up. "Did I ever tell you about all of the princes and kings that I-" That was her mother, always exaggerating.

Mal moved toward the door and opened it, just to get her mother's words from her head. Sure enough, Ben stood there, the crown lopsided on his head, his hair threatening wind blown status.

He seemed… nervous.

"Hey Mal," He started, nervous like the first time he had come to her dorm, before she had love spelled him and he had promised the stupid things he had. Back when things were easier in a way. "I didn't see you at your locker today and I wanted to come by and check on you."

She hadn't seen him either, but she figured he was fine. It wasn't like they were on the isle where people disappearing usually meant bad things. "I didn't know it's already been a week." She knew she had to get on him about that. He was the one who had brought it all up in the first place, right? "And I didn't see you either," she continued. "But I just figured the king of the entire country had more important things to do than calculus and phys Ed." So her tone was barbed.

Maybe she didn't like all of the extra attention, or maybe her mother was starting to drive her crazy.

Speaking of her mother, she picked the most opportune time to shout out tiny lizard orders. "Why don't you kiss him on his very kingly lips, daughter!"

She could feel her cheeks heating up and that was unusual for her. How would she handle that situation?

"Evie and Doug have done a lot more than you have!" Her mother continued. "I did not raise you to be second best!"

Finally, she couldn't handle it any longer. "Mother!" She shrieked calmly, feeling the magic surge through her, ignited by her anger. If she wasn't careful, it wouldn't be pretty and the school would fall into anarchy.

That was the last thing they all needed.

So she turned from Ben and pulled her mother from the desk and shoved her into the small bathroom, shutting the door with a loud snap. She didn't want to return to Ben after that embarrassment, but she knew she had to.

If not, he would wait there like a lost puppy.

"What can I do for you, King Ben?" She asked, even Adding a little bow for dramatic effect. They had yet to come to a decision and she wasn't going to break first.

"I um," he started, but didn't get too far before Evie And Doug came barreling down the hall, apparently looking for Ben.

"There you are!" Evie shrieked, practically pulling Ben along with her. "Audrey really needs you in the gym. Apparently she needs an executive decision like yesterday!"

Ben just shrugged. "I'll see you later?" He asked her as Evie tugged him away.

"Your locker or mine?" She asked, feeling bold suddenly.

His answer was swallowed up by his hasty departure.

So much for being able to talk to him!

* * *

Mal didn't see Ben after Evie pulled him away that night and she didn't see him over the next few days either. Before she knew it, it was the day before the dance and she thought she had come to a decision.

She was ready to tell Ben that-

She stared at the envelope thrown through the slats of her locker, haphazardly teetering on her Remedial Goodness book. She grabbed it slowly, as if it was about to bite her and pulled open the seal gently.

Inside was a letter, in Ben's regal handwriting, the royal seal at the top.

 _Dear Mal,_

 _Thank you for the wonderful photos, but I've decided to ask Audrey to the spring dance. I've been deluding myself thinking that you and I are compatible. I would rather get back together with someone who is real queen material._

 _Yours,_

 _King Benjamin Florian Adamson_

Mal stared, completely in awe.

If that was how he wanted to play things, fine.

She could work with that. She would show him everything he could be missing.


	15. Chapter 15

From the moment she received his letter, Mal avoided Ben like he was the plague. He had made his choice and she wanted to respect it. She had already completed all of her hours of detention and luckily Ben hadn't been able to complete them with her.

She could avoid him all she wanted, but it didn't mean that his decision didn't hurt.

She just wished she hadn't told Evie And the others about it. They wouldn't shut up about it. More specifically Evie.

"I can't believe that he did it in a letter!" Evie ranted for the few minutes that she wasn't with Doug during the day. "The only worst way he could have done it was over text!" She ranted. She seemed more upset about it than Mal did.

But she did need to come up with a small plot of revenge for the dance. How could she work it in with the theme? A sexy 50's vixen? Too predictable. A 90's grunge chick? Most comfortable, but not good for any kind of revenge, no matter how big or how small.

"Well at least it wasn't in person," Mal answered, shuddering at the thought. Thankfully, Evie had pulled him away before he could. To hear him say all that in person would destroy her.

Evie couldn't help but agree with her. Then she seemed to get excited. "Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed and Mal still couldn't help but laugh at the phrase. "I completely forgot! I finished your dress yesterday!"

Mal stared at her. Dress? She didn't even know Evie had been working on anything for her. She was stunned speechless.

"Try it on!" Evie suggested, moving toward their closet and pulling it out.

It certainly was a dress, but definitely one that was so outdated that Mal didn't even know where to start. It wasn't even from that century it seemed. "I think they meant the 1980's when they said decades, not the 1780's." She explained, looking the large yellow monstrosity up and down.

Evie had certainly outdone herself.

Evie gasped loudly. "You didn't hear?!" She shrieked, staring at Mal as if she had three heads. "Ben changed the theme from Decades to Masquerade Ball. That was the emergency that we needed him for a few days ago."

Decades was hard to plot revenge. Masquerade Ball was almost too easy. She could nearly feel a plot forming as she thought about it, especially as she stared at the hideous yellow dress.

There was just one problem. Well maybe two. "I don't have a mask," she realized. Where would she find one on such short notice?

"I've got you covered," Evie assured her. "The only thing would be your hair," she continued and it was like she could read her mind. Mal stared at her yet again in surprise. "We are plotting revenge, aren't we?" She asked.

"Yes, we are," Mal answered, her smile wicked. She just had to solidify a few details.


	16. Chapter 16

With the help of her fellow VK's and even Doug, the traps for her revenge were set. It wasn't total revenge, or very hurtful, just a little embarrassment, a parting gift, Mal liked to think of it as.

All that was left was to get through the dance and then the rest was up in the air. Should she go back to the isle? Continue at Auradon Prep with Ben still so close and yet so unattainable?

Ridiculous!

Damn! Everything reminded her of Ben it seemed.

That would take time, but hopefully her little bit of revenge would help ease the pain.

As she stood in front of the mirror, the huge yellow and blue dress with the puffed out skirt that made her look like Belle had in the old photos of her and her husband, and the black and blue lace and sequined domino mask that covered her eyes, she looked like a princess. The only problem was her purple hair.

She would stand out like a sore thumb.

Unless…

"Beware Foresware, replace the purple with more subdued hair," she mumbled, as she stood, taking all of Evie's work in as she stood before the mirror. Before her eyes, her hair turned from the vibrant purple to a more subdued soft Caramel like brown, piled high atop her head in the old style. Perfect for a masquerade ball.

Ben would never know.

She had sent Evie and Doug and the boys ahead, knowing it would look suspicious if she joined them. She would have to go alone and hope everything would work out.

She hung back, waiting until she could hear the pounding bass coming from the dance hall. Fashionably late, in the worst way, taking a page from Cinderella's book. What better way to make him see what he had missed?

It wasn't as grand of an entrance as she expected. No heads turned, the music didn't stop with the typical record scratch. Barely anyone looked over to the doors as she entered, but she preferred it that way.

She just needed to get Ben's attention and hold it on her. She needed to get him into position for her revenge, something he would never forget.

She knew how to run a scam better than anyone else, how to pick a mark and work them until he or she gave her all the information or goods she could ever want.

She held back, near the food and drinks as Ben, completely noticeable in his blue and gold suit even though he didn't wear the crown, danced around with Chad and Aziz and a few of the other Tourney team members and a few of the cheerleaders as their dates. It was surprisingly easy to recognize everyone, even though they wore all manner of masks. She could see Evie and Doug and Carlos and Jay dancing not too far away, and Jane timidly joining them. Still, something seemed off about Ben.

He seemed to be the only one looking for someone who wasn't there, his eyes, his entire body turning toward the entrance every time someone entered.

He couldn't be looking for her, could he?

No, it wasn't possible. She was just deluding herself further.

It took him forever to finally pull away from Audrey and the rest of the tourney players and the cheerleaders. He had slow danced with Audrey for the few slow songs that were dispersed in the loud drum filled jams, but he seemed nervous, not himself.

Did he expect her revenge?

When he approached the food table and sampled a few of the finger foods, perfectly arranged on the silver platters and a small glass of punch, she struck.

"Excuse me?" She started, disguising her voice the best she could and picking up the pocket square she had magicked out of his pocket when he wasn't paying attention dancing with Audrey and the rest of them. "I think you dropped something."

He turned back toward her almost in a daze, surprise painting his face. "Thank you," He said, reaching out to take it. He definitely seemed distracted.

Instead, she folded it up and placed it back in his vest pocket with gentle hands. "I hope your girlfriend over there doesn't get too jealous," she said, trying to remain neutral. Ben And Audrey? It irked her.

The mention of a girlfriend seemed to make him nervous, then he became almost sad. "My girlfriend actually isn't here," he admitted, turning his attention toward the door. "Actually I don't-" he continued. "It's complicated and I wouldn't want to bore you." He was definitely distracted by something.

"Would you want to dance?" She asked him, her voice coming out more genuine than she would have liked it to and he nearly turned back toward her in recognition. "I mean if your girlfriend isn't here, and we'll probably never run into each other again-" Why couldn't she keep her composure all of a sudden?

He looked toward the door again. "You know," He said, turning his attention back toward her. "I don't think I've ever met you before."

Shit! As King of the entire nation and class president he would know everyone.

"Masquerade ball," She shrugged, but he didn't seem to believe it. "I'm a transfer student." She settled for. It technically was true. "So that dance?" She asked. "Or are you worried about it getting too complicated?" She needed to get him on the dance floor. She needed to get him in position.

Ben sighed and she could nearly feel his pain and torment physically. "Sure," He answered almost defeated as he offered her his hand.

She took it and he led her toward the dance floor as a slow song just happened to start, or so it seemed. Carlos had done a little rearranging of the set list at her command.

"You seem a little down," she commented as they found a place to dance among the other couples. "I'm a pretty good listener and I don't know anyone here, so if you need a sympathetic ear-" she trailed off. He probably thought she was insane.

He was quiet for a while and then it was like a dam broke and he explained everything but left out all the names. She had to admit it was kind of refreshing to hear it all from his point of view, and how he had felt about things. He didn't once mention the love spell though, but she figured he wouldn't to a complete stranger. He didn't even mention being king.

"The deadline for our decision was supposed to be tonight," He explained, "And I thought things were going so well between us, even though her friends and mine have been forcing us together at every turn. Then something changed a few days ago."

That was one thing she did want to hear from his point of view. What had changed in his head since they had spent the night together and the disastrous yet fun fake encounter in Fairy Godmother's office.

Had she gone too far? Had that changed his mind?

"She left a letter in my locker saying that she was done here at Auradon Prep and that she was going home."

Wait what?! She hadn't done that! He had put the letter in her locker that he was going to date Audrey!

"It was in my locker, the ring I had given her tucked in the envelope," He continued to explain and Mal could feel the magic threatening to surge forward. The only person who knew where the ring was hidden in her bedside table was Evie. "So I figured there was no convincing her." He seemed completely defeated. "I-" He started. "I was an idiot and I let her get away."

That was a refreshing statement. At least he realized it, even though she hadn't really gone anywhere.

"I shouldn't have even suggested the distance or whatever the hell it was." It was almost exciting to hear him curse, even though it was minor. "I just, I was a complete idiot."

Mal knew she had to say something. "What about this girl, the ex you mentioned earlier. She seems nice." She had to know why he had run back to Audrey so quickly. She had to find a reason to get her revenge, though the urge was slowly dissipating.

She didn't get an answer before the slow song melted into a fast jam and he let go of her like she had burned him. He was off to join Audrey once again she supposed, to try and woo her back most likely.

Mal wanted to talk to him more, but she knew she couldn't do that as herself yet. She needed more answers. So she yanked Evie away from Doug and pushed her into the girl's bathroom.

Evie was about to ask how her dance had been, Mal was sure, but she cut her off first. "What the hell, E?!" She asked. "You sent him a letter saying I was leaving?!" She tried to reign in her emotions. "You orchestrated this whole thing and sent him back to Audrey!"

Evie looked guilty. "He was supposed to chase after you, admit his feelings early and you were supposed to get your happily ever after!" She admitted with her wide eyed optimism.

"And now he's back with Audrey," Mal answered. "Or is trying to be."

Evie tried to argue, but still looked quite guilty. "What do you want to do?" She asked. "Fight for him or let him go?" She asked.

Mal was about to give her answer, the one she had been giving for the past few weeks, but then she remembered that the deadline was up.

What did she want to do?


	17. Chapter 17

As soon as she and Evie slipped out of the girl's bathroom, Jay hooked his arm around hers, catching her by surprise. "You and I are dancing, Cutie!" He said, for anyone in earshot, she supposed.

"You were in on it too?" She asked, as they danced next to Evie and Doug to the pounding bass. He nodded a little more than just with the music and his hands threatening to go where they shouldn't. "If you value the use of your hands, thief, I would be careful!" She was a little frustrated. Why had they all had to interfere?

What would have happened if they hadn't?

Jay just smirked at her. "The king hasn't stopped staring at you since we started dancing," he told her and she snuck a look toward him. Sure enough, his gaze was focused on her yellow dress and the door. "I'm just helping you torture him a little," he added, his lips moving closer to her ear, which she figured looked quite risqué from the angle that Ben could see.

How was she supposed to fix the entire mess that they had caused?

"I'm betting that he'll approach you once the next slow song comes on, or maybe it will be Audrey." Jay continued. "Either way, you can exact your revenge as you wish, Mini Queen of Evil."

She did like the way that sounded.

He approached Audrey, and she danced with Carlos, who was much more appropriate with his hands than Jay had been. Carlos did seem more fidgety though.

"You know something, don't you?" Mal asked, knowing Carlos was one to come right out with things if only she asked. Barely any threatening involved since they had become… friends.

"I know that Audrey asked him to the dance and that he agreed," Carlos explained, his face gentle. He was almost taller than she was. When had that happened?

"What does it matter who asked who?" Mal asked. He still wanted to get back together with Audrey, who was more queen material, as Ben had put it, and she couldn't blame him, maybe he had wanted that all along.

Carlos let out a short chuckle. "He only agreed to go with her because he thought you were gone, back to the isle," he explained. "She practically begged him and he only agreed for 'old times sake.'" That did seem more like Ben, if she were being honest. "He hasn't stopped staring at you since you bumped into him, and you don't even look like you."

"Love spell?" She answered with a shrug. He wasn't supposed to recognize her, but maybe there were some after effects of the love spell.

Carlos gave her an intense look that she had thought only she could master. His eyebrows raised, as if he was waiting for a better explanation. "You think he's done everything just because of the love spell?" He asked her, trying to give her a second chance to answer.

"It makes sense," Mal admitted, even though most of it might have washed away in the enchanted lake. "I-"

She had no idea what she was going to say next, but it was just as well as the music cut out and Fairy Godmother began to speak into the microphone on the short stage.

"Thank you all for coming out for the spring dance!" She started with the usual niceties and the announcements, along with a few cheesy jokes. "Will the owner of the onion on the grass please tell the toads that were once horses that there will be no princesses to kiss tonight?" Forced laughter sounded all around. "We've reached the part of the dance where we announce the Lady and Lord of the dance." Another collective groan rang out. "Circle up, boys on this side, girls on this side," She urged.

Mal just looked around confused as Evie and Carlos took both of her hands and joined the circle. Across the circle, Ben stood between Audrey and Chad, the rest of the Tourney team and cheerleaders dispersed throughout the circle.

"What the hell is going on?" Mal whispered to Evie on her left.

Evie seemed to be beaming. "A very old tradition that everyone used to do at balls," she explained. "It was thought that the commoners should please the king with dances and the best dancers would be allowed into the royal court as the king saw fit. The old kings used to find their wives this way." She forced out as the dance started, with the actual record player judging by the warped warbled out tune.

"Just don't let go of our hands until we tell you to," Carlos spoke. How did he know about it? "Since it's a masquerade it's a way to meet new people."

Or get information from people she already knew, she realized.

Mainly Ben.

She just had to figure out how to navigate the whole thing.

"Whatever you do, don't get eliminated," Evie told her.

Mal figured magic would have to be involved somehow.


	18. Chapter 18

King Ben had to admit that not being recognized right away, and fawned over for being king was definitely an advantage, especially since Mal had decided to make her exit. It had come completely out of the blue, the letter in his locker after the photos had appeared.

He had thought things were going well.

Then the letter had shown up and he was too much of a coward to ask her about it or even try to stop her. She had made her choice and he knew he had to respect that.

He was heartbroken, but he knew deep down that it had been a possibility, He just hadn't expected it to. He hadn't expected to feel something so quickly for the girl he had never seen before. The girl he didn't recognize in the yellow dress.

Who was she?

Why was he so drawn to her?

The dance of "King Says" would just be a way to get to know her better, should they be paired up. And if they were the last two standing, another dance.

Maybe he could even get her to take her mask off.

Or maybe he should chase Mal and bring her back from the Isle with whatever means necessary. He wanted so bad to keep her with him, show her the love she hadn't received as a child.

Yet, the girl in the yellow dress, his curiosity needed to be sated. He needed to know where he knew her from and why she seemed so familiar.

As luck would have it, he miscalculated in his counting and ended up with Evie as his first dance partner instead of the girl in the yellow dress. She wasn't a bad dancer at all and she was able to keep up with him, so much so that they became comfortable.

Comfortable enough to talk at least. "How are you holding up?" She asked him as Fairy Godmother called out a command without the customary "King Says:" before it, so they kept dancing.

"How could she just leave like that?" He asked. "Without talking to me?"

Evie let out a short chuckle. She almost seemed to be enjoying his pain. "Mal is very set in her ways," Evie said. "Eventually she would go back to what she knows. But I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of her."

He hoped not. "What about the girl in the yellow dress?" He asked. "Any idea who she is?" She wasn't too far away, dancing with Chad, who was struggling to keep up.

"She-" Evie started And then stopped as the next command came from Fairy Godmother.

"King says freeze!"

Ben joined her in a frozen pose, as Fairy Godmother went around tapping out those that had continued to move. He watched as Chad was tapped out, but the girl in the yellow dress stayed, frozen like a perfect statue, even as Chad broke away from her arms.

"Dance!" Fairy Godmother called out, and a few couples resumed only to be tapped out. Still, Yellow dress, with the full skirt that looked like Rose petals stayed.

"King says circle up!" Fairy Godmother called out and the remaining people circled up for new partners. So much for asking Evie anything else important.

He waited for the typical four or so beats to pass before Fairy Godmother would tell them to pair up, his eyes searching for the Yellow Rose, waiting for the opportunity to be paired up with her.

Finally, he was. And he found himself tongue tied for the brief few seconds before Fairy Godmother's next order. Then finally he knew what to ask.

"What's your name?" He asked. "Where are you from?" He followed up perhaps a little too quickly.

"My name isn't important," She said, as he spun her gently. "And I'm from a place that you've never been."

Way to be cryptic.

"Tell me about It?" He asked.

She just smiled a small smile, shy and demure, something about it that made him think about Mal yet again. "As the King commands, so shall it be."

He tried not to stare at her, or get distracted by her eyes so much that he didn't listen to Fairy Godmother's commands. "You know about The Witch's Knot?" He asked.

He had so many more questions, but their time together ended too soon as Fairy Godmother commanded as the king that they circled up again.

After several orders, and several eliminations, there were still several people still in the relatively large circle.

He could see Evie and the fellow VKs whispering to whoever was next to them, looking very conspiratorial. Could Mal, The mini queen of darkness and heir to Maleficent be planning something against him as a last hoorah in Auradon?

They were all up to something.

"Pair up," Fairy Godmother called out and then tapped out the several people that had followed the order without the "King Says" before it.

That made the circle a lot smaller. Evie, Audrey, Aziz, Jay, Yellow Rose, Jane, Lonnie, Doug, Carlos And himself remained.

"King says find a partner," Fairy Godmother spoke with a knowing smile, the fake plastic crown on her head definitely comical.

He miscalculated again and ended up with Lonnie, who actually was quite the wealth of information as it would so happen. "The VKs Are planning something," She told him once Fairy Godmother as the king commanded them to dance once the song rolled over to the next song. He stared at her, practically begging for more. "They're telling everyone they pair up with to make sure that you and someone else stay in as long as possible."

"Who's the someone else?" Ben asked her.

"King says do the Macarena!" Fairy Godmother called out starting the goofy moves and the rest of them joined her.

"Yellow dress," Lonnie explained, looking toward where Yellow Rose danced the Macarena with a smile that ate at him next to Aziz.

"Why?" He asked.

Lonnie shrugged and lost the rhythm to the Macarena and Fairy Godmother tapped her out.

He needed more information. What the heck were they planning with him and Yellow Rose?

"King says follow the leader!" Fairy Godmother commanded and they all turned toward her, following her moves. That was usually the portion with the most eliminations.

Sure enough, as he kept an eye on Fairy Godmother and Yellow Rose a few feet in front of him, Aziz, Jay, Audrey, Carlos And Jane were all knocked out.

There were only four of them left.

"King Says circle up!" Fairy Godmother said.

It was the final countdown. Finally, he was paired with Yellow Rose again, or at least holding her hand. He still had so many questions for her.

He was still conflicted over Mal.

Were feelings always this complicated?

"King says square dance," Fairy Godmother spoke, then she called out square dancing moves, a few with King Says, and a few without.

That knocked out Doug and then Evie too.

"Final two!" Fairy Godmother called out excitedly. "You all know what that means."

Ben watched as Yellow Rose looked around confused. Had she never been crowned Lady of the Dance? Had she never competed at a school dance?

How?

All of Auradon knew about the traditions set forth by the rulers of old, unless…

Of course!

The curve of her cheek, the unique green of her eyes, the litheness of her hands, the only thing that wasn't the same was her hair color.

Mal had a sister!

He couldn't wait to ask her all kinds of questions as they shared a dance, finally.

Then he realized how idiotic that sounded and the epiphany struck him like lightning. Yellow Rose was Mal!

How could he have been so stupid to think that she had a sister?! He could definitely use the fact that she didn't know that he knew to his advantage and as they came together for the customary dance of the Lord and Lady of the dance.

He bowed and offered her his hand, as all dances were supposed to start, and she returned the bow as the slow dance started.

He was about to ask her, tell her what an idiot he had been about the whole thing from the moment after the coronation when he had started thinking about it to that moment, and as he spun her closer he was ready to tell her.

Then, disaster struck.


	19. Chapter 19

Mal was nearly ready to reveal herself to Ben as they went through the formalities of bows and curtsies when she felt the first drip of the cool paint slide down her back. Before she could even think to react, the rest of the black and purple paint fell onto both of them, covering them in the sticky oily mess.

"Is this your revenge?" Ben asked through the thick paint and oil, the black and purple making him look like someone had tried to paint him like the dark night sky.

"My revenge?" She asked, blinking the paint and oil from her eyes. Then the realization hit her like a freight train as he gripped her hand tighter and gave her a smile that made her melt. "How long did you know?" She asked.

"The Witch's Knot," He explained, "As the King commands, so it shall be." He continued as the rest of the dance stared on, stunned into silence. He moved his gaze from her, toward all of the students watching them and then he looked back to her with those grey blue eyes that she had missed for the past few weeks. "I think we should probably go clean up," he continued.

Mal couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not showering with you again," she said with a laugh and even he chuckled. "This was part of my revenge, but something tells me Evie and the others planned this too."

He took a step closer and brushed some of the oil and the paint from her face, but only spread it further. "What do you want to do?" He asked. She knew everyone was staring at them, and even though it was only a few short seconds, it began to feel like an eternity.

Was he asking about them? Or the paint and oil, or something else?

Paint and oil first, she figured. Everything else could wait until later. "Dance with me," she said, though it came out sounding like a demand.

She offered him her hand and he took it, the confusion apparent on his face. "What are you-?" He tried to ask.

"I might get detention, or worse for this, but do you trust me?" She asked him, gripping his hand harder.

"I trust you," he answered with a short nod.

"So lead me in the dance and I'll take care of everything else." Had it been that hard to convince him before?

Slowly, he spun her closer to him and began to lead her gently in a slow waltz, the paint and oil making their first few steps unsteady. They started first without music, and then the music picked up again. She could feel his, and everyone else's eyes on them and she closed her eyes.

She needed to concentrate. First on the paint and oil that was stuck to every inch of them, and made their steps unsteady and made him grip her with a gentle firmness. Then she focused on the heat that started in her chest and moved out toward her hands and the rest of her body. Finally she focused on the air all around them.

She could feel his nervousness without even looking at him. She couldn't open her eyes or it would all dissolve into nothing.

She had never done magic so powerful before.

"Spin us hard and fast," She said as she felt the magic surge through her. She moved her hands to his and gripped them tightly through the slippery oil and paint. "Whatever you do, don't let go."

He gripped her hands harder, linking their opposite fingers and thumbs for more leverage. "I wouldn't dream of it," he answered.

And then she could feel them start to spin, slowly at first and then picking up so much speed that she could hear the air whizzing past her ears and swallowing up the gasps of the onlookers.

She figured it must be working.

She could feel the magic tingling across her skin and his, the paint dissipating and becoming something else. Something better. Then she felt her hands start to slip from his, her feet struggling to keep up with how fast they were both spinning through the paint and oil. She nearly felt her fingers slip entirely from his, but he gripped her tighter.

It was working!

"Start to slow us down," She forced out, trying to keep her hold on him and keep from tripping.

After several long minutes, or what seemed like several long minutes, but what could have been mere seconds, he began to slow them down, and she thought about the final details. The shimmers on his tie, their matching domino masks, the purples and blacks her theme. The revenge turned against her fueling her magic.

Then as they came to a stop, she opened her eyes.

What had once been a disaster of paint and oil, a chaotic amalgam of slick black and shimmering purple, covering them from head to toe, had become a beautiful array of shimmering silk and smooth lace, their outfits matching, right down to the masks, an artistic mirrored pattern with purple silk and black lace.

The gasps and oohs and ahhs from all around them once the magic died down, pulled her back into the actual situation. She could be punished or admonished for that. Magic, or at least the magic she was capable of, as Fairy Godmother had said, could be dangerous, and spelling the King, with dubious consent, might as well slap on the irons.

Though she did have to admit that Ben looked absolutely amazing. The suit, tailored exactly for him from the oil and paint, fit him perfectly, and she forced herself to breathe. How she had missed seeing him, standing that close to him, spending time with him. Maybe black and purple could be his colors too, the way the shimmering silk and the purple lace brought out his eyes was almost criminal.

How could she have survived without him over those past few weeks?

She was ready to tell him everything, and then she felt him pulling away from her.

Before she could even think to say anything, he began walking away, through the crowd of onlookers. She wasn't sure if he had said anything, she was too raptured with her work.

He was making his escape, and she expected Fairy Godmother to swoop down upon her with Former King Beast and his wife. Still, she stood tall as her fellow dancers stared at her and the magic they had just seen, even though inside she was something she hadn't been for a long time.

Scared.

She forced herself to start dancing as Evie and Jay and Carlos and Doug pulled her with them as the music started again.

An exciting bass filled dance number with banging drums and a tempo that made her feel a little better.

"That was amazing!" Evie shouted over the bass as they danced wildly. "You looked like a pr-"

"Don't you dare!" Mal cut her off. She would never be, never wanted to be, she could never possess the grace, the poise to be a princess.

That possibility was closed off to her anyway. Ben had decided that.

"Did you guys do that?" She asked. She didn't think she had given the signal to drop it, but maybe she had?

Evie shook her head. "We didn't plan that, but it worked to your advantage."

Mal looked to her for an explanation and Evie physically turned her around to see Ben standing there, still looking as perfect as ever.

She found herself tongue tied, and scared. What was going to happen? What was the strange feeling kind of like magic, but not exactly, flowing through her?

"What-" She started, but her voice faltered. "What do you want?" She asked, trying to sound menacing. She didn't know what was real and what was orchestrated by her fellow VKs, so she was trying to be careful.

"I wish to woo a fair maiden," He said, taking a step closer and bowing shortly to her.

She stared at him. She hadn't told anyone else what had happened that night during the photos and dinner. She hadn't mentioned the Witch's Knot to anyone.

"Though I don't wish for another spell, or charm," He continued. "All I ask is one dance and whatever follows after."

She could practically hear Evie cooing excitedly behind her. She had a thing for fairytales and happy endings, especially the sappy ones.

Mal could feel more people staring at them as the next slow ballad began. She did want to talk to him. There was so much she wanted to say and ask, so she took his outstretched hand and he pulled her closer to him as everyone else began to pair up too.

"Ben," she started, as he said her name at the same time.

"You should go first," he suggested after they had both tried to correct. "I went first last time and look where that got us."

She took a deep breath. "I was never going to go back to the isle," she admitted, "But if you still want to get back together with Audrey, I wouldn't blame you."

He just laughed. "Get back together with Audrey?" He asked. "Why would I want to do that?"

She was so going to kill Evie and the others. "You stuck a note in my locker saying that you were going to ask Audrey to the dance instead." She didn't want to mention anything else he had supposedly said.

He laughed. "I never did that," he answered, trying to keep his composure it seemed. "I think we've both been duped again."

She could almost laugh at that. Revenge could wait until later though.

They had more important things to talk about.

"So what would have happened if we hadn't been avoiding each other?" She asked. "We were supposed to meet up this morning and talk about things."

His smile was infectious, and the blush that crossed his cheeks made him even more irresistible. "I would have actually had to cancel our meeting this morning," he admitted. "Something urgent happened in Charmington last night and required my urgent attention this morning." He seemed almost nervous. "But I would have-" he paused. "Are you sure you want to hear this right now?" He asked. "Our one dance is almost up."

She smiled back at him, hoping it looked nearly wicked. "What else would I want to talk about?" She asked. "Kingdom policy? No thanks." He laughed at that too. "As far as the dance being almost up, let's just say you shouldn't step up against me when I'm plotting revenge." She stomped her foot, sending a loud clap through the dance hall and causing all of the others to freeze.

Ben looked around slowly, stunned at the entire dance frozen. "Wow," He spoke, His voice colored with awe, his hands still around her. "Remind me not to make you mad."

"This isn't mad," she explained. "This is frustrated. If I were mad, well, let's just say, that's a side of me you don't ever want to see."

He looked back to her. "I think I'd like to decide that for myself," he answered, his eyes soft and gentle meeting hers. "If you'd let me."

For a brief moment she was speechless. "Can I ask one question?" She asked.

"Ask as many as you want," he told her, brushing a loose curl from her cheek and keeping his hand there.

She cursed herself for not finding a solution to their problem yet. She cursed herself for being so stupid and being distracted by Ben not being there, for thinking she wouldn't have to come up with a solution at all.

"If my friends and your friends hadn't interfered, would you-" she wasn't sure how to phrase it after that. "Would we-?"

"Would we decide what we're about to decide?" He finished for her.

Way to be cryptic!

She nodded slowly and he continued. "You know, at first I wanted to be mad at them for interfering." He continued on, listing all of the ways they had interfered. "But then I started really thinking about it and I appreciate it." She stared at him more.

He appreciated it? "You appreciated it?" She asked. "You enjoyed that they flung us together in the most awkward instances. Naked in the wrong locker room, wasting an entire afternoon and evening, and ruining the spring dance?" She asked. "Not to mention all of the other awkward instances that they've shoved us together."

He nodded. "Yeah, all that stuff happened," he answered, "But because of all that I learned a lot about you that I wouldn't have learned otherwise." She stared at him, completely speechless. "You keep more hidden than you show. You hide behind sarcasm and dark humor, but it's mostly harmless. You don't like to ask for help, but you are the first to offer it. You are fiercely dedicated to your art, and your friends, and anything you set your mind to."

He caught all of that from their small meetings forced by her friends? She struggled with what to say next. "You learned all of that?" She asked.

"Yeah," He answered with a gentle nod. "I know that people see you and only see the worst. The daughter of Maleficent with an unknown father. Raised by the darkest villain of our time so she can't know love, or friendship, or trust, but I see more than that." She stared. How could he be so wise? "I will always see more than that."

Her words failed her again, but she knew she would have to say something soon.

"Mal," He continued after several long seconds of frozen silence all around them. "I want to make a decision here, but I feel I need to explain first."

She just nodded along stupidly.

"At first, I was frustrated that you cast a love spell over me," He admitted, and she hated that that was where the conversation was going. "I thought that if you didn't want to let it happen naturally that it wouldn't be worth it." He still didn't know the real reason she had spelled him, but she figured he suspected. As if the events of the coronation weren't enough. "And I only suggested a break because I wanted to give you an escape. Being king, being close to the king, is never easy." She held her gaze upon him as he listed off the complications that came from being royalty, strangely beautiful and vulnerable in his confession. "I really like you, Mal, And I give myself to you, however you want me."

She watched as he sunk to his knees before her, definitely not the action she expected from the king. A King of an entire nation should not bow to a villain's daughter. It just felt strange.

She knew she had to say something. "If I had known I was going to get a speech, I would have let time continue."

He looked up at her with those blue grey eyes, crinkled with a smile and she felt her resolve crumbling. It was still super weird to have him bow to her.

She offered him her hand, noticing a few shimmers left from the purple paint. She knew she should wait, hold off until she could come up with a solution, but she knew that opportunity might never come again. "I'm not the easiest person to get along with," She said, as he took her hand and pulled himself up. "And if you expect me to sit back and do nothing, but look pretty while you take all the credit, you have another thing coming."

He chuckled slightly at that. "I think I've learned by now not to expect anything from you, Mal Bertha," He said gently, his eyes softening on her face.

"And if you only want me around to prove you could 'Tame the Dragon' or whatever, then let's put an end to this right now." Maybe she was trying to give him an out too. "If you're only going to use me for spells and magic and come around like the King in the Witch's Knot, that's not what I want."

He chuckled again, a little awkwardly. "I don't think I could ever do that," he answered. "Only see you every few weeks? These past few weeks have been torture enough. I don't know how the King in the Witch's Knot did it, honestly."

"So how would it work then?" She asked. Maybe she was stalling. She knew he would want to kiss her. "What does the king expect of me?"

"Well," Ben answered. "I figured that we could figure that out as we go." She watched him for more of an explanation. "For now I just want to be able to tell everyone that we are together and hold your hand whenever I want, and be near to you for no other reason besides the fact that I want to be near you. I want to bring you flowers and other dorky gifts that you'll probably laugh at, and make you laugh and smile, and take you on the occasional date when kingly duties don't get in the way, and invite you to dances and balls as soon as they are announced. And-"

She put her hand to his mouth. "You had me at being able to tell everyone we're together," she admitted. She was relieved he hadn't mentioned kissing, but she was sure it was implied. She knew she should probably mention it. "But-" She started and then froze as he slipped his ring back on her finger.

"But?" He asked, looking back up at her.

"I'm not ready to kiss you yet," she admitted, knowing they really should talk about it, but that if things got too intense she could always restart time as a distraction. "Or anything else like Fairy Godmother's office."

He laughed. "I figured as much when you always pulled away," he admitted. "And I shouldn't have tried to throw away our first kiss so easily."

Why was he so agreeable? He was unlike anyone else she had ever known, Especially not on the Isle of the Lost.

"First kisses are almost like magic, right?" Mal asked, remembering all of the PSAs and literature around Auradon and the Isle.

He nodded. "In a lot of cases they are magic," he explained. "My parents first kiss was what broke the curse," he explained.

"Are you sure?" Mal asked. "Because all of the literature and the historical accounts say that her admission of love broke his curse."

Ben smiled with a nod. "Yes, _his_ curse," he explained, "But their first kiss was the magic that brought everyone back to their original forms and restored the castle to its former glory."

She really didn't want to talk more about his parents. "I doubt our first kiss would do anything as spectacular for you," she answered.

"I'm not sure," he answered, "But I am definitely willing to wait for it." Then he gave her the most stunning smile and she found herself tongue tied yet again.

How had she survived those few weeks without him?

"So what happens when our one dance is up?" She asked, wanting to keep him there and away from his kingly duties for a while, even if it meant keeping time frozen for a short while longer.

"Another dance?" He asked. "And however many are left after that one?" He continued.

"As the King commands, so it shall be," she answered, with a short bow before she moved back into his arms, closer than they had been before, ready to resume time.

She stomped her foot again and everything began again where it had left off. The music, the general chatter of the entire dance hall, the flashing lights. It was like she hadn't stopped time at all.

Just like that, the song came to an end and they pulled apart again. Only he kept her hand in his as the pounding bass dance anthem began.

Everything felt like magic, the way it was supposed to be.


	20. Chapter 20

Ben could not believe how relieved he felt after he and Mal had finally decided to continue in their relationship. He had been thinking about that moment since he foolishly had suggested a break or distance or whatever the hell he had been thinking. It had been ridiculous to even think about it, but he knew it had needed to be done.

"Alright everybody, it's nearly midnight, and you know what that means," Fairy Godmother said, in her usual excited voice. "It's the last dance of the night, so if there's that special someone you haven't had the nerve to ask, get asking."

Ben turned to Mal, standing next to him, looking exactly like a princess in the black and purple ensemble she had magicked from the disaster that had been the oil and paint, her purple hair piled up high in a curly style and he couldn't stop staring at her, trying to take in every detail.

His initial feelings had been real, and then the love spell had muddled everything for a while, only to make his real feelings more intense once it was washed away.

"Mal?" He asked. "Would you like to dance?" How relieved he was, How easy it had become to talk to her again once they were back together. He didn't have to overthink things.

"Yes, I would, Benny Boo," she answered and he forced out a laugh. He couldn't believe he had actually almost missed her nicknames for him.

He straightened at the familiar song that came out of the speakers. It was one he knew, and knew well, but hadn't realized how similar it was to him until he heard it at that moment.

Still, he pulled Mal closer to him and began swaying them to the slow music.

"You don't speak French, do you?" He asked, gently whispering into her hair.

She shook her head just slightly. "Just a few curse words here and there," she answered.

That made him laugh.

 _Le ciel bleu sur nous peut s'effondrer  
Et la Terre peut bien s'écrouler_

"The blue sky can fall on us, and the earth can crumble away," he whispered along with the lyrics once the man began to sing. He had never felt so similar, so much that a song related to his life until that moment, dancing with her.

 _Peut m'importe si tu m'aimes  
Je me fous du monde entier_

"But none of that is important. As long as you'll have me." He figured she wasn't one to want to hear about love, and he had already ruined his first admission of love to her at that stupid tourney game. They had just started dating again. "I don't care about the entire world."

 _Tant que l'amour inondera mes matins  
Tant que mon corps frémira sous tes mains_

"As long as I wake up with dreams of you in the morning, and you hold me close in your arms." He was giving her the edited version, the less intense, less love spelled version.

 _Peut m'importent les problèmes  
Mon amour puisque tu m'aimes_

"My problems aren't important, as long as you'll have me." He had never felt a truer statement. Those stolen moments that they had, the date at the lake, the coronation when they had moments alone, their forced meet ups by her friends and his friends, they were moments when he didn't have to think about being king and all of the problems of the kingdom and what waited for him when he came of age.

 _J'irais jusqu'au bout du monde  
Je me ferais teindre en blonde  
Si tu me le demandais_

"I would go to the ends of the earth, I would dye my hair blonde, if only you asked it of me," he spoke, catching her eyes just briefly.

 _J'irais décrocher la Lune  
J'irais voler la fortune  
Si tu me le demandais_

"I would pull down the moon, I would throw away all my riches," That sounded like something Maleficent would want them, him, his parents to do, but in that context, dancing with Mal, completely in love with her, it sounded like something he would do. "If only you asked it of me."

 _Je renierais ma patrie  
Je renierais mes amis  
Si tu me le demandais_

"I would give up my country," he continued, realizing how much it sounded like a treaty, a deal, like the ones he had been dealing with as the new king of Auradon. "I would give up my friends, if only you asked it of me."

 _On peut bien rire de moi  
Je ferais n'importe quoi  
Si tu me le demandais_

"People may laugh at me, but I would do anything, If only you asked it of me." He said. Why did this song have to be the last song of the night? Why did it feel so personal and so real?

 _Et si un jour la vie t'arrache à moi  
Si tu meures que tu sois loin de moi_

"And one day, If life pulls you away from me, If you die and are taken far away from me," He continued, wondering if she thought it was crazy. The song was pretty similar to his serenade at the tourney game.

And much more intense.

 _Peu m'importe si tu m'aimes  
Car moi je mourrai aussi_

"It's only important that you'll have me," he continued, careful not to give her the real translation. She wasn't ready for that. "For I Will follow you in death."

 _Et nous aurons pour nous l'éternité  
Dans le bleu de toute l'immensité_

"We would go to our little eternity, in the large blue sky." Now he just felt stupid, rambling on the most intense love song and she didn't even know it yet.

 _Dans le ciel plus de problèmes_

"Where we'll go, there will be no problems."

 _Mon amour crois-tu qu'on s'aime_

 _Dieu reunit ceux qui s'aiment!_

"Do you believe that if you have me, We will be reunited forever?" He translated as the music slowly faded away and the lights came up.

"That guy was definitely under a love spell," She said gently, the stars in her eyes soft as she watched him, still wrapped up in his arms. "No one makes those promises without being under a spell of some kind."

"Maybe," Ben answered, choosing to believe that that wasn't the case. "Or maybe he was just so in love with her that he would do anything for her."

Oops! He hadn't wanted to mention the L word yet.

"So what happens now?" She asked, pulling her attention from him and looking around to the other students pulling apart and pulling off their masks.

He looked around too. "Anything we want," He answered. "Within reason," He continued.

The way she smiled at him, with the stars in her eyes, made him feel like he was exactly where he was meant to be. "So I was thinking we could go out on another date to the enchanted lake," she started.

He chuckled. "I wish we could," He answered, "but I still have six hours of detention to complete."

The smile he got from her was downright wicked. "You know, I'm quite good at getting in trouble," She said. "And I'm dying to see that forbidden section of the library again."

He could see the wicked glint in her eye, and he had a feeling some trouble was about to start.

She wouldn't be Mal without starting trouble.

He wouldn't have her any other way.


End file.
